Love Actually
by hottgorgbeau123
Summary: All Human. Bella was living her life on her own. She tried dating many guys but never found that "click" until one night at work. It was a normal night with Rosalie and Alice at the club doing another singing gig. And then she saw Edward...
1. First Sight

Chapter One: First Sight

EPOV

"Why'd you take me to this place?" I asked Emmett as he and Jasper waved to the bartenders. This wasn't my scene anymore and Jasper and Emmett knew that. At one point it was, but they knew it wasn't now so why did they even ask me to come? But still they insisted on bringing me here tonight and for some reason I agreed. Now, I was regretting it.

"You'll thank us after you see the three girls who are singing tonight." replied Jasper after ordering three drinks for us. "They're gorgeous." "They also work here as bartenders on the nights that they aren't singing." the bartender making our drinks said.

"Really?" Jasper asked with an excited tone while Emmett stood facing the other way with a goofy grin on his face.

"Yeah. There they are." replied the bartender looking at the same thing Emmett was looking at.

I turned around and was totally taken aback by the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life. She had long light brown hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail with a few strands left down framing her face. She had on a sparkly blue halter-top that showed her stomach and a black leather mini-skirt. She was laughing and talking to two girls dressed in the same outfit with different colored tops.

"What's the girl in the blue's name?" I asked the bartender as soon as I was able to take my eyes off the girl.

"It depends on when and where you see her." the bartender replied in a distracted tone looking at the girls. "They have stage names for when they are singing and working at the bar and then they have their real names."

"What's the point of that?" Jasper wondered out loud.

"Well," the bartender began "they want to choose if they want to talk to the people here at the bar again or not."

I exchanged confused glances with Emmett and Jasper and then looked back at the bartender. He sighed before continuing.

"If they start talking to a guy at the bar and decide they like them, they'll tell the guy their real name and give them their number. If they don't like any guys that they talk to at the bar, then they don't say their real names. That way, if one of those guys come up to them during the day when the girls are picking up their dry cleaning or whatever, they just ignore them. Got it?"

Emmett being the slow one had to ask, "So you're saying that if their real name is Abby but their stage name is Jane and I walk up to them on the street and say 'hey Jane' they'll ignore me?"

"Yeah. Pretty much." the bartender replied pouring vodka into a shot glasses before giving them to a big group of girls standing beside us. They seemed to be having a bachelorette party seeing as how one girl had a "Soon To Be Bride" shirt on.

Turning back to us the bartender added, "The girl in blue is named Aubrey, the on in pink is named Audrey, and the girl in purple is named Dawn."

"Are these their real names?" I asked hoping they were.

"You'll have to ask us that question."

I turned around to see the three girls standing behind us and was once again drawn to the girl in blue.

"What's your name?" she asked me in a voice that sounded like bells chiming. I noticed that she had dark brown eyes with a few flecks of light brown and green in them.

"Edward." I said in a voice that was supposed to be confident but just sounded quivery. "What's yours?"

"Aubrey." she replied before walking over to where her friends were talking to Emmett and Jasper. "Come on, we still have a show to do."

"Wait." I said, wanting to talk to "Aubrey" some more. "Can I buy you a drink after your show?"

"Maybe." she said with a smile that made my heart beat faster in my chest before turning away and walking to the stage.

"I'm in love." I heard Jasper mumble as he too watched the girls leave.

_Me too. _I thought.

BPOV

It was a normal night at "Twilight" the bar that me and my best friends Alice and Rosalie worked at. We were just getting ready to go on stage when Rosalie tapped me on the shoulder.

"Look at those guys." she said pointing at the bar where three guys were talking to Mike. One was huge. He had the biggest muscles I had ever seen and was wearing dark jeans with a white t-shirt. One was tall but thin with blond hair and was wearing a white t-shirt as well with light blue jeans on. But it was the other guy standing at the bar that caught my attention. He had bronze hair that was all mussed up and looked perfect. He was wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans that fit nicely on his hips and I couldn't take my eyes away from his ass for the life of me.

"Let's go talk to them." I said with a huge grin on my face while taking Alice and Rose's hands and leading them over to the bar.

"Are these their real names?" I heard the bronze haired one ask.

With all the confidence I could muster I answered his question. "You'll have to ask us that question."

All three boys turned around and faced us. The bronze haired one was even more gorgeous from the front as he was from the back. He had beautiful emerald colored eyes and a crooked smile.

"What's your name?" I asked him as Rosalie and Alice went to talk to the other two boys.

"Edward." he replied in a sexy, velvety voice that made my heart melt. "What's yours?"

I smiled and was about to tell him my real name when I changed my mind last minute. _Why not have some fun with him tonight? _I thought before answering: "Aubrey."

With that, I walked over to Rosalie and Alice who also told these other guys their stage names and said, "Come on, we still have a show to do."

"Wait." I heard Edward say. "Can I buy you a drink after your show?"

"Maybe." I said with a smile that I hoped looked as sexy as he did right then.

As we walked over to the stage I looked over at my two best friends. Rosalie had a huge smile on her face and a dirty look in her eyes. Alice just smiled at me and whispered "I'm in love." before giggling uncontrollably.

_Me too._ I thought before jumping on stage and walking to my microphone. I really wanted to do a good job tonight. I really wanted to impress Edward.


	2. Shocking Realizations

Chapter Two: Shocking Realizations

BPOV

Rosalie, Alice, and I got into our line as the music began to play. I was taking deep breaths and trying my hardest to think of anything and everything but Edward sitting over by the bar watching me.

_You can do this, you can do this. _I thought as the lights began to dim on. _You've done this many, many times. You know this. You can do this!_

I was the first one to sing and right when my part came, I sang my heart out and fought with all my might not to look at the bar.

"I'm so hot when I walk I leave smoke in my tracks. Don't leave your man with me cause he won't come back. I'm dangerous…" I sang.

Rosalie and Alice smiled singing their part: "It's when the lights go out."

The next part was Rosalie's. "I'm a girl that's not afraid of the dark. When the lights go out I get what I want. So easy…"

"When the lights go out." Alice and I sang together.

"I don't know what you want to do. But I want to get you up in my room. I like your…" Alice sang followed by Rosalie and I singing "Swagger."

Alice: "Gotta…"

Rosalie and I: "Have it."

All three of us: "So won't you come along?"

By the time we got to the chorus, all of people who came to the club regularly were singing along with us.

"Turn off my lights and see if you wanna get into my dark side. Turn off my lights and see if you wanna get into my dark side. Turn off my lights and see if you wanna get into my dark side. You ain't never, ever, had a, nothing better,

When the lights go out…"

Alice began the next verse, "I'ma dig in my bag and see what I pull out.I got a lot of tricks so let me start out with momma…" Rosalie and I followed by singing, "When the lights go out"

The crowd was going wild with people dancing and grinding and singing along by the time I got the courage to look at the bar. I saw Edward sitting right where I had left him, his eyes watching me intently. I sang my lines, "I'm gonna change your good boy status, break all your good habits. Momma gonna make you an addict…"

Rosalie and Alice: "When the lights go out."

Rosalie: "I'm gonna make you a new man, have you talking to all your friends - Baby you ain't seen nothing…"

Alice and I: "When the lights go out."

It was my turn to sing again and I was singing to Edward again: "I'm the type of girl that always gets what I want. So be sure before you come up in the dark. Cause you about to see me…"

Alice and Rosalie: "When the lights go out."

We sang the chorus again and then the song was over. While the DJ was changing to the next track Rosalie came up to me and said quickly, "Wow, girl! I think that was the best I have ever heard you sing and that's saying something!"

"I agree." Alice said before getting back into her position to sing "Parking Lot". I smiled. _If Rose and Alice say that I was singing better than ever, then that must mean that Edward liked my singing too. At least…I hope so…_ I thought to myself before singing the song.

We sang five songs after "Parking Lot" before our little concert (if you could even call it that) was over.

"Thank you guys. I hope you enjoyed our show!" Rosalie said getting cat calls as a reply from a group of guys that had stayed in front of the stage for our whole concert.

"Make sure you go to the bar and give us a big tip! Tell our favorite bartender, Mike, who it's for." Alice said before we all introduced ourselves in our special way.

As the music started up again I sang my part, "My name is Aubrey, and I'm so cold. My style is flashy. You're style is old! Cuz I'm fly as hell with the juicy humps. I don't want your man, cuz I got enough. So don't be mad at me cuz he be calling my phone. I got my eye on one guy, tell him 'leave me alone!'" I sang before walking off the stage and heading towards the bar.

"I'm Dawn and I know you like my personality. One of a kind - I'm so unique. I set the trend, you follow me. I know I bring you to your knees!" Rose sang before falling backward into the crowd and being carried into it. Sometimes, I think the only reason she does that is to be touched by all the guys in the club!

"And I'm Audrey. So don't forget to leave us a BIG tip with Mike, okay? Oh, and ladies…he's single!" Alice added and then the club was filled with the sound of girls screaming.

_Wow!_ I thought. _Mike's gonna be happy about that!_

When I reached the bar, I saw him. He was smiling a crooked smile at me that made my heart melt and I had to think really hard about breathing. I didn't know how a complete stranger could have this effect on me but…this guy did.

"Hey." I said with a smile when I reached Edward.

"You did wonderful up there." He replied. "You sing beautifully."

"Well, thank you." I said as calmly as I could. It was rather hard because I was standing so close to Edward. So close that I could smell him. He smelled like "Tag" but there was another scent to him. I didn't know what the other scent was but "Tag" had just become my new favorite scent.

"Would you like to grab a table and talk with me?" Edward asked me oh so calmly. _Damn. _I thought. _He asks me to sit with him and talk and I can't. Damn. Damn, damn, damn!_

"I wish I could." I said with a frown hoping Edward would see the sadness in my eyes in the fact that I was not able to talk to him tonight. "But, how about you give me a call tomorrow or something. I mean, if you want to." I added.

"So you'll tell me your real name?" Edward asked me with that beautiful crooked smile of his.

"No." I said with a sly smile. "But I will give you my cell number. If you do choose to call me, then maybe you'll learn my name."

Edward was smiling wide as he watched me write down my number on a "Twilight" napkin.

"Maybe." I said firmly giving him the napkin.

As he took the napkin from my hand, I felt a spark and immediately removed my hand. I looked at him wide eyed.

"Sorry." Edward said cautiously.

"I have to go." I replied before running out of the bar as fast as I could.

EPOV

I watched as Aubrey, Audrey, and Dawn sang and danced on stage. They were dancing sexy and seductively and Aubrey looked really good at what she was doing. REALLY good. _No. Stop it, Edward. You don't even know this girl. What's wrong with you?_

"Holy shit!" Emmett practically screamed as Dawn did a back flip and went right into a split. "She's fucking FLEXIBLE!"

"Calm down, Emmett. You don't want her seeing _that_." Jasper said pointing to Emmett's pants where, sure enough, there was a bulge.

"Shut up." Emmett said between his teeth while he moved his beer to cover himself up.

After about seven songs, the girls started talking to the audience and saying their goodbyes.

"My name is Aubrey, and I'm so cold. My style is flashy. You're style is old! Cuz I'm fly as hell with the juicy humps. I don't want your man, cuz I got enough. So don't be mad at me cuz he be calling my phone. I got my eye on one guy, tell him 'leave me alone!'" Aubrey sang before walking off the stage and heading towards the bar.

I turned towards the bartender and said, "Here's 200. That's my tip to Aubrey."

"Are you serious?" the bartender asked me with an incredulous look on his face.

"Yes, I'm serious. I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't." I snapped before turning back to Aubrey walking towards me.

"I'm Dawn and I know you like my personality. One of a kind - I'm so unique. I set the trend, you follow me. I know I bring you to your knees!" Dawn sang before falling backward into the crowd and being carried into it.

I saw Emmett's eyebrows shoot up and he turned around and said, "Here. I have 150 dollars right now in my pocket. It's all going to Dawn."

"Do you guys come from a rich family or something?" The bartender asked while adding the money to an envelope marked "Dawn".

"Something like that." Emmett replied turning his attention back to Dawn.

"And I'm Audrey. So don't forget to leave us a BIG tip with Mike, okay? Oh, and ladies…he's single!" Audrey added and then the club was filled with the sound of girls screaming.

The bartender that had spent the whole night talking to us started laughing. "I'm gonna add 50 to each of their tips just for that." I heard him say before Jasper turned around and gave him 200 to put in Audrey's envelope.

Finally Aubrey made it over to me at the bar.

"Hey." She said with a smile when she reached me.

For a second I forgot how to breathe. I forgot to talk. Then, right before I could look any more stupid I said, "You did wonderful up there. You sing beautifully."

"Well, thank you." Aubrey answered calmly. She was standing really close to me having been pushed closer and closer by the crowd. She smelled like strawberries and I couldn't help but notice how full her lips were._ No. Stop thinking like that, Edward. Be a gentleman!_

"Would you like to grab a table and talk with me?" I asked her as calmly as I could. I wasn't the most religious person in the world but I was praying very hard at that moment that she would agree to sit with me.

"I wish I could." Aubrey said. I thought I was a slight frown on her face but I couldn't be sure. It was probably my imagination. But then she added, "But, how about you give me a call tomorrow or something. I mean, if you want to."

"So you'll tell me your real name?" I asked giving her a hopeful smile. I wanted nothing more than to have her phone number so I could call her, but having her real name too would be wonderful as well.

"No." she said with a smile. "But I will give you my cell number. If you do choose to call me, then maybe you'll learn my name."

I knew I was smiling wide as she wrote down her number on a "Twilight" napkin, but I couldn't stop myself. I was getting her number!

"Maybe." she repeated firmly giving me the napkin.

As I took the napkin from her hand, I felt a spark and she immediately removed her hand. She looked at me with wide eyes and I was afraid that I had hurt her.

"Sorry." I said cautiously, not knowing what exactly to say after having a little shock while touching a girl's hand. It had never happened before.

"I have to go." Aubrey said before she rushed away from me.

"Aubrey!" I called, but she was already gone.

BPOV

Feeling that spark as Edwards hand met mine scared me. It scared me because of all of the love stories I had read about how a spark was supposed to mean love. But I'd been in love before, and I got hurt. If Edward called me and asked me out, would I be able to do it? Would I be able to put myself in the position of getting hurt again? I wasn't sure about the answer to that question, but I did know one thing: I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.


	3. Dirty Little Secrets

Chapter Three: Dirty Little Secrets

EPOV

Dawn and Audrey left soon after Aubrey did. They asked me where she had gone. I told them what had happened and Audrey said, "It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong." before running out the door much like Aubrey had done.

"You should still call her." Dawn said once Audrey was out of sight. "She wouldn't have given you her number if she didn't want you to call her."

"Then why did she leave the bar like I had burned her?" I asked with a hint of hysteria in my voice.

"Because of the shock you felt. She felt it too." Dawn said nonchalantly looking out the door.

I just stared at her blankly trying to make sense of what she was saying.

Dawn sighed before continuing. "Look, Aubrey is the best one to answer that question fully for you. But, I'll tell you this: she fears love and a sudden shock when casually touching someone is supposed to mean love. At least, to her." Dawn told me before turning to leave the bar.

"Why does she fear love?" I asked.

Dawn turned around and looked me up and down. Finally, she answered, "She'll have to tell you that." And then she was gone.

_Well, _I thought. _That wasn't the answer I was looking for._

I understood fearing love. I did too. A girl named Isabella Swan stole my heart in high school. She didn't know me, I never got the courage to go and talk to her, and she moved to live with her dad before I had a chance to get to know her.

After she left, I started partying really hard. I was out every night at some party or club and I missed a lot of school sleeping off hangovers.

A new girl came to school once Bella left. Her name was Jessica. I asked her out and we started going to parties together. She made me forget Bella. I fell in love.

One night, the cops showed up at one of the parties we were at. We left the party and were running down the street when the cops caught us. Jessica had eight grams of marijuana on her at the time. When the cops found it, she blamed it on me. She said I made her hide it.

I was sent to jail. Just for four years since I was young, but I got out early because of good behavior. That and the fact that my family is rich so it was mostly me being bailed out.

In all, I stayed in jail for two months and three days. I never told anyone that I had been in jail. When Emmett and Jasper asked me where I had been, I told them that I was staying with my grandparents even though they knew my grandparents were long dead. They never asked and I never told them. I stopped going to parties and bars and they never pressured me into going.

It was my dirty little secret but I would tell Aubrey about it if it would make her feel better. I would tell her that she wasn't the only one who feared love. We had something in common.

_By 12:00 tomorrow, _I decided, _I'm going to call Aubrey and see if she wants to get together. Maybe go out on a date. Maybe, then I'll get to talk to her about what happened._

BPOV

When I got home and was able to think straight, I called Alice. Immediately, she three-wayed Rose and I told them my problem.

"So, you're scared to fall in love again because of Jacob?" Rose asked me confused even though she knew the answer.

"Yes." I clarified.

"Well, how do you know that you really do love Edward? You've only known him for, what? Five hours at the most?" Alice stated in her brainiac voice.

"How do I not know?" I countered.

"If I recall correctly, Alice, I heard you say you were in love, tonight." Rosalie teased.

"Shut up, Rose. We're talking about Bella right now." Alice snapped, putting the subject back on me. "I mean, Bella, honey, he doesn't even know your real name."

"I know, I know." I said, "But…"

Just then my doorbell rang.

"Hold on, you guys. Someone's at the door."

The second the door was opened enough for me to see who was at the door, I dropped my phone.

"Jacob…" I breathed.

I could faintly hear Alice and Rosalie calling my name through the phone receiver, but I didn't care. Jacob was here, in my apartment. I didn't know why he was there and I didn't know how long he'd be staying. But he was there. And I was happy.

"Can I come in?" Jacob asked me with a shy smile.

"Yes." I answered, stepping back so he could come in.

He walked into my living room and sat on the couch. His hair hung down to his shoulders just as I remembered it. His eyes shone bright against his russet skin as he watched me watch him.

All of a sudden, the memories started flooding into my head. Every memory that I refused to remember or think about was suddenly crystal clear, right there in front of me, forcing me to remember.

"Bella!" I heard Rosalie and Alice scream at me from the phone still on the floor.

I bent down and picked up the little purple rectangle and put it to my ear. "I have to go." I said never taking my eyes off of Jacob.

"Why?" Alice whined trying to figure out what was going on. I just hung up without answering.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Jacob. It amazed me how he could just walk through my door and sit down on my couch like nothing had happened between us.

"Can I not come visit a friend?" He asked me innocently.

I glared at him. _Since when am I his friend?_ I thought.

Suddenly, I was captured in a memory.

After I left Phoenix and moved to Forks, Washington, my dad introduced me to Jacob. We got to know each other after a while and began talking on the phone every night and seeing each other every weekend. One day, he asked me out.

I knew all about him. How his relationships were not based on truth and how he had an expiration date on his love. I also knew that he knew that he had me wrapped around his finger from the moment my dad introduced us. Anything he wanted, I would run and do it to make him happy. The day that he asked me out I already knew that he would do me like the others, yet I took a chance.

Saying that our relationship went great would only make me feel better because I am lying to myself. He knew that I loved being by his side. My mind would only be on him when we took a quick pause from each other. I started to realize that my feelings for him were slowly growing but his were starting to subside. So, we ended our relationship.

The day he pushed me away was the day that I agreed to crush my own heart into unfixable pieces. I wanted to yell at him for making me waste my time on him and for letting me trust him. I fell for him so hard and so fast thinking he would catch me but he just let me fall. Then, I was on my own, left to pick up the pieces. I put my walls and defenses right back up and went back to being the girl that no one really knew.

Being friends was too much for me. With anger in my eyes and tears ready to reveal themselves, I placed my hand across his face with heat in every second they touched. I was so mad at him for flirting with my best friend right there in front of me. I made a cover story for it so he wouldn't think of it as me still having feeling for him, though.

He stopped talking to me afterwards. I tried to apologize three times but he wouldn't hear it. After that, I just gave up. I figured it would help me get over him if I didn't talk to him, but it didn't. I hated the feeling of knowing that I was the center of all his hate.

Before I left for college, I saw him all the time. Eventually I learned to ignore him. Sometimes it was hard, though. I couldn't help but notice him. I always found myself looking for him. Even when I told myself I didn't want to.

"Bella?" Jacob's voice brought me back to reality. "Is everything okay?"

And just like that, I was mad. REALLY mad. "Everything was fine until you showed up." I replied in a cold, icy voice.

Jacob looked at me surprised like he never would have expected me to say that. Then his gaze turned just as cold as my voice had sounded.

"I just thought I would come and try to make amends with you. But I guess that was a bad idea." Jacob snapped.

"It was a bad idea." I said before opening the door again. "You can leave now." I waited for him to get up and walk out of my life for good this time.

Slowly, he got up and walked over to me. "I'm sorry." he whispered, barely audible. "Really." Then he was gone.

I shut the door and turned my back to it. The guilt started taking over me. That was one of Jacob's natural gifts. He could make you feel guilty about anything. Even something that he did.

I could feel the warm sensation burn my eyes and I ran to the bathroom locking the door. Looking in the mirror, I saw the weak girl that I never allowed myself to be anymore. Crying over Jacob is what I used to do when I was young and foolish. Now I was older and stronger and I knew that I shouldn't be crying over any boy, especially Jacob. But I couldn't bring myself to stop.

I don't know how long I stayed locked in my bathroom but by the time I came out, I had four missed calls. One from Alice, one from Rose, one from Jacob, and one from an unknown number.

I didn't call them back.


	4. Happiness For Two

Chapter Four: Happiness For Two

EPOV

"So she didn't answer when you called?" Jasper asked me before taking a bite of his sandwich.

We were at the new restaurant called "Volturi". It was Saturday afternoon, just last night I had met Aubrey. Automatically I was drawn to her and I thought she felt the same way about me. Obviously not.

"No." I said lamely while tearing apart my burger.

"Did you leave a message?" Emmett asked with his mouth full.

"No." I mumbled.

I could feel Jaspers eyes on me so I quickly changed the subject. "Did you get the other girls' numbers?"

"Yeah!" Emmett said excitedly sitting up straighter as he began telling his story. "I called her last night and we talked for, like, three hours and then I asked her out and she said 'Yes'! We're going to "Eclipse" tonight!"

I smiled halfheartedly at Emmett but Jasper just glared at him.

"God, Emmett! Why are you so stupid?" he asked.

"W-what?" Emmett looked at me and then back at Jasper confused.

"Edward is all sad and upset and you're going on about Dawn. What's your problem?"

"No." I said. "It's okay. I think I'm going to go to Twilight tonight and see if Aubrey is there. I'd like to talk to her."

"That's a good idea." Jasper agreed. "Maybe she just didn't answer the phone because she didn't recognize the number."

"Maybe."

BPOV

At 6:00 I made my way to work. Twilight opened at 8:00, but we were told to arrive at work early to make sure our work stations had what we needed and were clean. Tonight, Alice and Rosalie wouldn't be coming to work because they had dates with the two guys that we met the night before: Emmett and Jasper.

I was about halfway to the bar when I saw a shiny, silver Volvo beside me at a red light. Inside it was the bronze haired boy from last night. Edward.

I smiled remembering our conversation from the night before. He was so sweet and cute. And he had asked me to get a table and talk with him! Then I frowned. _He must think I'm crazy. _I thought. _He'll probably never want to talk to me again after I left like that. God, Bella! What's wrong with you?_

Twilight had been open for about an hour and a half before I saw him. He didn't see me, he just walked up to Mike and ordered a gin and tonic.

"Let me get it." I said to Mike when Edward turned his back on the bar to check out the crowd.

Mike smiled knowingly. "Okay." he said with a shrug before going to take the drink order from a girl in a bikini top and short mini skirt.

I fixed Edwards drink and brought it over to him. "Here you go." I said in a seductive voice.

Edward spun around fast with a surprised look on his face. Then he smiled his sexy, crooked smile.

"Hey." he said casually.

_Oh, God. The feelings you stir inside me just by smiling._

"I called you this afternoon and you didn't answer." he said with mock sadness.

I smiled - pleased that he had called me and said, "I had an unexpected visitor. I'm sorry. If I had known it was you, I would have answered."

Edward smiled wide and took a sip of his drink. "Who was your visitor?" he asked interested.

I felt the smile leave my face as I remembered Jacob sitting on my couch.

"I don't mean to pry." Edward added quickly. "I don't want to seem nosy."

"No, it's fine." I said still distracted by the image in my head. "I just don't want to talk about it."

"Okay." Edward said after a moment.

He looked around the bar taking a sip of his drink again. Then he turned around and smiled at me suspiciously.

"How would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?"

"I'd really like that." I replied feeling the wide smile come back on my face.

Edward smiled back at me just as wide. "How about I pick you up around seven?" he asked happily.

"Perfect!" I exclaimed before grabbing a napkin and writing down my address.

_I'll have to call Alice so we can go shopping for the perfect outfit for our date. _I thought. _She'll love that._

EPOV

After my lunch with Jasper and Emmett, I went home to find something to wear to Twilight. I picked out a pair of dark blue jeans another clean black shirt. This one with a pink silhouette of a girl lying on the beach on it.

I quickly took a shower and spent thirty minutes in front of the mirror making sure my hair looked good. After those thirty minutes, I gave up and decided it was a lost cause to try and fix the unfixable.

I arrived at Twilight at 9:34 and went straight to the bar. Seeing the bartender, Mike, that Emmett, Jasper, and I had talked to the night before, I went up to him.

"Can I get a gin and tonic?" I asked putting a twenty down on the bar counter.

"Coming up." Mike replied as I turned around and faced the stage.

I didn't think the girls were going to be singing tonight since Dawn was going on that date with Emmett, but then again I was new to this bar. I could be wrong. I saw a big group of girls dressed in sleazy outfits walk through the door before I heard the voice that I had dreamt about last night.

"Here you go." She said in a smooth, seductive voice.

I turned around fast and, sure enough, there was Aubrey standing behind the bar right in front of me. I smiled at her and said as casually as I could, "Hey."

Aubrey smiled back at me but didn't say anything, so I continued. " I called you this afternoon and you didn't answer."

Aubrey smiled again just as I hoped she would and said, "I had an unexpected visitor. I'm sorry. If I had known it was you, I would have answered."

I could feel myself smiling wide and tried to cover it up by taking a sip of my drink. I didn't want to seem like an idiot in front of the most beautiful girl in the world. "Who was your visitor?" I asked interested.

The smile on Aubrey's face quickly left the second the words were out of my mouth. I backtracked. "I don't mean to pry." I added quickly. "I don't want to seem nosy."

"No, it's fine." She answered still distracted by whatever was going through her head. "I just don't want to talk about it."

"Okay." I said hesitantly looking around the bar and taking another sip of my drink. I didn't know what to say to that. Then, I had an idea.

I turned back around and faced Aubrey with a smile that I hoped was confident. "How would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?"

I drew in a deep breath and held it while she answered my question. _Please say "Yes", please say "Yes"!_

"I'd really like that." Aubrey replied. _She said "Yes", she said "Yes"! And is that a huge smile I see on her face??_

I smiled back at her just as wide as I had when I told her about my phone call to her. "How about I pick you up around seven?" I asked happily.

"Perfect!" Aubrey said loudly before grabbing a napkin and writing down her address.

"Do you like hiking?" I asked cautiously. I knew exactly where I wanted to take Aubrey but I wasn't sure how she would react to it.

Aubrey eyed me suspiciously and said, "I'm a really slow hiker. Why? Where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise." I answered with a smile. _I'm taking you to my meadow._


	5. Three Hints To Falling In Love

Chapter Five: Three Hints To Falling In Love

BPOV

Edward stayed with me at the bar for the whole night. He ordered drink after drink but most of them went untouched.

"Why do you keep ordering drinks if you aren't going to drink them?" I asked Edward curiously. He had six gin and tonics and two Bloody Mary's that were all just sitting there. He hadn't taken a sip from any one of them. Instead, he was drinking water.

"Well, if I keep ordering drinks, then I can stay here at the bar with no one saying anything to me." Edward answered coolly looking up at me from under his eyelashes. His beautiful, beautiful eyelashes. _Oh. My. God. Take me NOW!_

I was making a Cosmo for Mike so he could keep talking to the girl in the bikini top and mini when the idea came to me. I handed Mike the Cosmo and then stood in front of Edward, taking his hand in mine to get his attention. Once again I felt the shock but, this time, I didn't run from it.

Edward turned around to face me. Then he glanced down at our interlocked hands and back at me with that sexy, crooked smile of his.

"You're doing it again." I mumbled looking at our hands.

"Doing what?" he asked squeezing my hand.

"Dazzling me." I replied feeling my blush creeping up into my cheeks.

"I dazzle you?" Edward asked me with a chuckle.

He brought the hand that wasn't holding mine up to my face. Softly, his fingertips brushed my cheek making my blush even more prominent. "Do I dazzle you?" Edward asked again.

"Frequently." I replied with a small, shy smile, not knowing how he was going to react to my openness.

Edward chuckled again. "You're beautiful, do you know that?"

I smiled looking into his beautiful emerald green eyes. Edward actually made me feel beautiful, but I still couldn't see how this gorgeous man was talking to me instead of the other girls in the bar. I was just ordinary, average, everyday Bella. But, then again, he didn't know that. What was I going to do when he did?

"There's something about you." Edward said quietly like he was talking to himself, not to me. He had a thoughtful look on his face like he was contemplating something.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked almost afraid to hear his answer. _I hope he's not thinking that I'm not worth his time. I really love spending time with Edward. He's perfect._

"I feel like I know you from somewhere." Edward said, removing his hand from my face (much to my dismay). "Those eyes. You look so familiar."

I smiled at him. "You look familiar too." I said before giggling. "Maybe we knew each other in another life."

Edward chuckled just as I wanted him to. I took another second to look into his eyes before remembering my idea.

"If I make you a drink, will you drink it?" I asked Edward with a sly smile.

"What are you going to make me?" Edward asked catching on.

"You'll see."

I took a glass of Coke and put three shots of Rum in it. I added some Cherry Schnapps and mixed the drink together. I added five cherries and smiled.

"Here you go." I handed the drink to Edward as he looked at me cautiously. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. "No, no, no. Keep your tip, this one's one me." I said pushing his money away.

Edward smiled a thank you.

"Before I take a sip of this," Edward began, looking at the drink like it was poison. He looked at me and then added, "Tell me how this drink came to be and the name of it, please."

I laughed. "Why?" I asked. "Do you think I'm going to poison you or something?"

"Not at all." Edward grinned. "I just like to know the history of all the drinks I drink."

"What's the history of the Bloody Mary?" I quizzed.

Edward took a second to think about this. "Hmm…" He thought for another moment before adding, "I have no idea."

I laughed at his comment before answering his question. "I was messing around with Audrey one night and we were seeing who could make the best alcoholic beverage out of Coke, Rum, Cherry Schnapps, and cherries. Does that make you feel better about drinking it?"

"That depends." He answered. "What's the name of it?"

"Alice called it 'Yummy Rummy'" I replied without thinking.

"Alice?" Edward questioned confused. "Who's Alice?"

I felt my face get hot. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. _"Did I say Alice?"

"Yes…" Edward noted. "Who is she? Why are you blushing?"

"Bar's closed." Mike interrupted. I let out a sigh of relief that, for once, Mike interrupted at the perfect time.

Edward raised an eyebrow at me. "I'll meet you outside?" He asked uncertainly.

"Sure." I answered with a smile. "I'll be out in a couple of minutes."

As Edward left, I looked around the bar. "Time went by really fast, tonight." I commented to Mike as we locked up the alcohol and cleaned the counters.

"Yeah it did." Mike agreed. "You must really like that Edward guy. I don't think I've ever seen you talk to the same guy all night. What's up with that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know." I grinned at him and added, "I'm leaving now. Buh-bye!"

Edward met me outside the bar. "Are you going to tell me who this Alice person is?" Edward questioned me as he walked me to my car.

"Um…no." I replied with a smile as I unlocked my car.

"Then will you at least tell me _your _name?" He asked me hopefully.

"How about I give you three hints as to who I am and then I will let you have three guesses on our date tomorrow night. How does that sound?" I suggested.

"That sounds fair." Edward decided. "What are my three hints?"

"Hint one: I dye my hair." I paused and Edward looked at me with a bewildered expression.

"I hardly believe that." He said.

"Believe it or not." I replied before continuing, "Hint two: my parents are divorced."

I opened my car door and stuck my purse in the passenger seat before turning back to Edward. I hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then, I got into my car.

"What about hint three?" Edward questioned as I shut my car door.

I smiled and rolled down the window. "Hint three," I paused just to keep him in suspense. I put my car in drive and put my hands on the wheel at ten and two, just like a perfect driver would. "Is: I went to your high school." I stated before driving off into the night.

EPOV

I stayed with Aubrey at the bar for the whole night. I kept ordering drinks to keep her busy so I could watch her work. And, although I'd never admit it, get good looks of her ass.

"Why do you keep ordering drinks if you aren't going to drink them?" Aubrey asked me curiously. I looked down and saw that I had six gin and tonics and two Bloody Mary's that were all just sitting there near me. I hadn't even taken a sip from any one of them. Instead, I was drinking my water.

I thought about my answer before answering her question. I wanted to tell Aubrey that I kept ordering the drinks to watch her at work, but I didn't know how she would react. So, I settled by saying, "Well, if I keep ordering drinks, then I can stay here at the bar with no one saying anything to me." I looked at her from under my eyelashes to see her reaction.

I turned around to look at the people dancing close together as Aubrey made a Cosmo to help Mike out. I felt her hand touch mine and I felt the shock again. I expected Aubrey to take her hand away from mine, but she didn't.

I turned around to face her. She didn't seem to have felt the shock that time. I took a quick glance at our hands, interlocked together and back at Aubrey's beautiful face with a smile.

"You're doing it again." She mumbled looking at our hands.

"Doing what?" I asked squeezing her hand after she didn't answer right away.

"Dazzling me." She replied still looking at our hands. I saw a slight blush creep onto her cheeks. _How sexy she is when she blushes!_

At first, I didn't think I heard her right. But after a second I chuckled and asked, "I dazzle you?"

I brought the hand that wasn't holding Aubrey's up to her face. Softly, I brushed my fingertips against her cheek making her blush even more prominent. "Do I dazzle you?" I asked again, thinking she hadn't heard me the first time.

Aubrey took a small intake of breath before answering. "Frequently." She said with a small, shy smile.

I chuckled again. "You're beautiful, do you know that?" I asked her quite seriously.

She smiled at me. I looked into her beautiful brown eyes and saw some familiarity there. At first, I thought it was because I had seen her the night before, but then I realized that wasn't it. There was something about her. Something that reminded me of someone from somewhere but I just couldn't put my finger on what it was exactly.

"There's something about you." I said quietly talking more to myself than Aubrey. I took in all of her features. Her brown eyes underneath her perfect dark brown eyebrows. Her small nose and high cheek bones. Her full lips and her beautiful smile. _Where have I seen this girl before? _I asked myself.

"What are you thinking about?" Aubrey asked me, her eyebrows pulling down into a frown. There it was again. That sense of familiarity. _Where do I know you from, Aubrey?_

"I feel like I know you from somewhere." I replied, still deep in thought. "Those eyes. You look so familiar."

She smiled at me hesitantly. "You look familiar too." She said before giggling. "Maybe we knew each other in another life."

I chuckled at her joke. _Maybe. _

She looked into my eyes for another minute before saying, "If I make you a drink, will you drink it?"

"What are you going to make me?" I asked catching on.

"You'll see."

I watched her take a glass of Coke and put three shots of Rum in it. She added some Cherry Schnapps and mixed the drink together. Five cherries were added before she brought me the drink and smiled.

"Here you go." She said handing me the drink as I looked at it cautiously. I set it down on the bar counter before reaching into my pocket and pulling out my wallet. "No, no, no. Keep your tip, this one's one me." Aubrey said in a sexy voice pushing my money away.

I smiled a thank you.

"Before I take a sip of this," I began, looking at the drink like it was going to kill me. I looked back at Aubrey and then added, "Tell me how this drink came to be and the name of it, please."

She laughed and I smiled at being the cause of her laughter. "Why?" She asked me. "Do you think I'm going to poison you or something?"

"Not at all." I grinned. "I just like to know the history of all the drinks I drink."

"What's the history of the Bloody Mary?" She quizzed me quickly.

I wanted to make a good impression on Aubrey so I thought for a second. "Hmm…" I didn't know the answer but that didn't stop me from trying to pull it out of my head. "I have no idea." I answered with a small smile.

Aubrey laughed at my comment before answering my question. "I was messing around with Audrey one night and we were seeing who could make the best alcoholic beverage out of Coke, Rum, Cherry Schnapps, and cherries. Does that make you feel better about drinking it?"

"That depends." I responded. "What's the name of it?"

"Alice called it 'Yummy Rummy'" She laughed.

"Alice?" I questioned. _Who is this Alice person?_ "Who's Alice?"

Aubrey's face became red around her cheeks. _Why is she blushing?_

"Did I say Alice?" Aubrey stammered.

"Yes…" I noted. "Who is she?"

"Bar's closed." Mike interrupted. I shot him a look but he just shrugged at me before holding the door open for me, signaling for me to leave.

I raised one eyebrow at Aubrey and asked, "I'll meet you outside?"

"Sure." She answered me with a smile. "I'll be out in a couple of minutes."

I walked outside and waited for Aubrey all the while wondering who this Alice was and why she blushed so much when I asked her who that was.

I heard Aubrey and Mike talking in the bar and then she walked outside and smiled at me happily.

"Are you going to tell me who this Alice person is?" I questioned her as I walked her to her car.

"Um…no." She answered with a smile as she unlocked her car.

"Then will you at least tell me _your _name?" I asked her hopefully.

"How about I give you three hints as to who I am and then I will let you have three guesses on our date tomorrow night. How does that sound?" She suggested.

I thought for a second. "That sounds fair." I decided. "What are my three hints?"

"Hint one: I dye my hair." She paused and I shot her a bewildered expression.

"I hardly believe that." I argued.

"Believe it or not." She replied before continuing, "Hint two: my parents are divorced."

I watched her open her car door and stick her purse in the passenger seat before turning back to me. I was putting these two hints into my memory when she hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. All of a sudden it felt like a fire had burned my cheek where her lips had touched it and i couldn't remember the first two hints. Then, she got into her car.

"What about hint three?" I questioned her as she shut her car door.

Aubrey gave me a beautiful smile and rolled down the window. "Hint three," She paused keeping me in suspense.

She put her car in drive and put her hands on the wheel at ten and two. "Is: I went to your high school." She stated before driving off into the night.

As I watched her drive off, I had an idea of who she was in my head, but I wanted to make sure.

I hopped into my car and drove home as fast as could. When I got home, I locked the front door and ran into the closet of the guest bedroom. I went through three boxes before finding the box that I was looking for. In the box was everything from my Summit High School days.

I found my Junior yearbook and pulled it out searching the pages. My eyes flashed past everyone's picture until I found the one I was looking for.

The girl who stared back at me had dark brown hair that was all the same length. It hit just above her shoulders and was tucked behind her ears. She had brown eyes that were so dark they looked black and she had beautiful teeth covered by perfectly full lips.

_Bella._


	6. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Until I get at least 30 reviews (I would prefer more! J) I won't be posting anymore chapters. So…if you really do like my story and aren't just saying you do to make me feel better, then how about showing me some love and reviewing!

Oh, and share with your friends, if you like. LOL

Gina Marie

"_When it seems the world has turned its back on you, take a look."_


	7. Wishes Do Come True

**A/N: YAY! I got 33 reviews! Now……… here's your reward. Another chapter!**

Chapter Six: Wishes Do Come True

EPOV

I was in a daze. I dropped down to the floor, breathless. _Bella! I'm going on a date with Bella!_

I couldn't remember how to breathe. I couldn't remember where I was. I couldn't even remember my own name. All I saw was Bella, and it was her face that I feel asleep to.

I woke up with a start. I looked around trying to figure out where I as. There were boxes piled all around me and my basketball, football, and baseball jerseys were thrown all around the tiny room I was in.

I shook my head from side to side trying to clear it but that just made matters worse. I had a killer headache!

I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. Taking two deep breaths, I opened them again. Immediately, my eyes fell onto my Summit High School Junior Year yearbook. I picked it up and my eyes landed on the picture of Bella.

All of a sudden everything made sense. I remembered everything that happened the night before including the three hints that Aubrey gave me to guess who she was. I remembered the feel of her lips as they pressed into my cheek and the way her arms snaked around my waist as she hugged me. The feel of her body against mine was intoxicating and she fit into me so perfectly.

Just like that my headache was gone.

At that moment I heard the noise that must have woken me up. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! _Must be my headache. _I thought. _I should get some Aspirin._

Then I heard Emmett's voice, "Open the damn door, Edward, unless you want me to knock it down!" _What the hell?_

I wobbled over to the front door, with my left hand firmly pressed against my forehead, and opened it. There in front of me stood Emmett and Jasper.

"Aubrey called and told us you might have a hangover." Jasper stated just as I was about to ask what they were doing here.

"You don't look so good." Emmett noted, clapping me on the back and walking into my apartment.

I glared at him feeling my head pound even more from his smack. "I don't feel so good." I mumbled closing the door and sliding down it.

"I wouldn't think so after all the drinks you had last night." Jasper laughed fixing me a glass of water.

I shot him a look. "I didn't drink most of them." I argued.

"How many did you drink?" Jasper countered with the bottle of Aspirin in his hand.

I had tried to keep track at the bar of just how many drinks I was having, but I lost count at drink number seventeen. I sighed, defeated and Jasper grinned to himself. "Exactly." I heard him say while putting the Aspirin bottle away.

"It's not so easy pouring alcohol down your throat anymore, is it, Edward?" Emmett called from the couch in my living room.

I was about to comment on the fact that he was always jealous that I could drink more drinks than him without getting drunk when he cut the television on. The voices on it came on and started talking loudly. I grimaced feeling my head pound even more.

"Turn that off, Emmett!" I cried.

Jasper walked over to me and handed me two Aspirins and the glass of water.

"Who called you?" I asked after downing the glass of water.

"Aubrey did." Jasper replied nonchalantly before helping me stand up and walking me over to the kitchen table.

"How did she get your number?" I wondered out loud. _And why didn't she call me?_

"She's friends with Audrey and Dawn." Jasper replied. "Audrey gave her my number and she called and told me what happened last night. Seventeen drinks. Wow!" Jasper laughed shaking his head.

I glanced at the clock and saw it was 10:03 in the morning. I was thinking about how to get Emmett and Jasper out of my apartment when Jasper said, "She called you too, you know."

I looked up and saw Jasper giving me a knowing look.

"I know you were wondering why she called me instead of you. But, she called you first. You just didn't answer." He stated.

I grabbed my phone from where I kept it on the counter by the sink. I had three missed calls.

The first one was from Bella. "Hey, it's me. I'm just checking on you to see if you're okay. You drank a lot last night. Call me later and I'll bring you some soup or something to make you feel better. If not, I'll see you at seven."

The robotic voice came on then asking me if I wanted to delete or save the message. _Save!_

The second message was from Emmett telling me to "Answer the God damn phone, Edward." _Delete._

The last message was from Jasper telling me that he and Emmett were on their way over. _Delete._

I played Bella's message over again and felt myself smiling because she was so concerned about me. I looked up from my phone and found not just Jasper, but Emmett looking at me too.

"I know who she is." I told them smiling. "Aubrey. She's Bella."

A look of shock was painted on both of their faces. Emmett spoke first. "Bella?" he gasped. "Bella, oh-my-God-I-want-her, Bella? Bella, why-doesn't-she-notice-me, Bella? That Bella? Bella from our high school, Bella?"

"Yes." I smiled as a memory of her passing me in the hallway of our school one day flashed into my mind.

"She didn't look like Bella." Emmett stated.

"Well, it was her." I answered confidently.

"How do you know?" Emmett asked.

"She gave me three hints, and I just guessed. But it really is her. I pulled out my old yearbook and found her picture. It's her, Emmett!" I replied standing up and running to go get my yearbook to show them.

"Here." I said giving the book to Jasper. "Look at her. Right there. That's her. Isabella Swan."

"She's changed a lot." Emmett stated after a moment, not taking his eyes off of the picture.

"What were the three hints?" Jasper asked looking at me curiously.

The scenes from the night before replayed in my head and I smiled repeating the hints. "Hint one: she dyes her hair. Hint two: her parents are divorced. Hint three: she went to our high school. It's her."

Jasper looked at me and then back at Bella's picture. "Wow." He said after a minute. "It _is_ her."

"Yes. It is. Now can you two please leave so that I can get ready for our date?" I asked while walking towards the door.

"You're going on a date with THE Isabella Swan?" Emmett asked wide-eyed.

I opened the door and turned around to glare at him. "Yes, with THE Isabella Swan. Now, leave!"

"Fine." Emmett sulked out the door followed by Jasper.

"Good luck tonight, Edward." Jasper said with a smile.

"Thanks." I said.

"Where are you taking her?" Emmett asked before I shut the door.

"The meadow." I replied getting approved looks from my two best friends.

BPOV

I drove myself home with a smile on my face. _I hope he knows who I am with those three hints. _I thought. _But maybe he never noticed me in high school._

In the three years that I had gone to Summit High School, the only boy I ever had eyes for was Edward Cullen. Sure, I dated other guys, but it was Edward that I really wanted to be with. Edward that I longed for and Edward that I stayed up all night thinking about and dreaming of every night.

From the moment I saw him in the bar that very first night, I knew who he was. He looked just the same standing there at the bar as he did all those school days sitting at the desk in front of me in French class. He had the same angular features and the same piercing emerald green eyes. I never let on that I knew him, though, and I never planned to. But then he asked me out!

I smiled wider as I pulled into the parking garage near my building. _I'm going on a date with Edward Cullen!_

I ran through the lobby shouting a "Hello" at James, the door holder who asked me "Where's the fire?" before walking into the elevator. It seemed to take longer than forever before the doors finally shut and I was moving up to the fifth floor.

With a _swish _the elevator doors opened and I ran down the hallway to my apartment building.

Once inside, I slammed the front door shut and locked it before running into my bedroom closet. I tore through all of the boxes of the memories that I actually wanted to keep before finding the one with "Summit High School" written on it in my sloppy handwriting. I ripped it open.

I pulled out my Junior Year yearbook and flipped to the page I always kept bookmarked. Page 42. On that page was Edward's picture. I stared at it wondering how it was that my wish was actually coming true. Sure, it was coming true seven years late, but it was coming true.

Edward finally noticed me! Edward finally asked me out!

"Don't tell me you're sorry cuz you're not. Baby, when I know you're only sorry you got caught. But you put on quite a show, really had me going.."

I woke up to my ring tone "Take A Bow". Before I even looked at the caller ID, I knew who it was that was calling me.

"Hello, Alice." I said with sleep still evident in my voice. "To what do I owe the pleasure of having you call my at this ungodly hour?" I asked sweetly.

"Did you see him last night? Jasper told me that he was going to go to Twilight last night. Did you see him? Did you see Edward?" Alice asked me talking really fast. I wondered how it was she managed to breathe while talking that fast.

I sighed dreamily. "Yes, I saw him and we have to go shopping!"

"Oh. My. God!" I heard Rose scream from the other end of the phone. "Did she just say 'shopping'?" She asked shocked.

"Yes, Rosalie, I think she did." Alice answered. "Are you feeling okay, Bella?"

I giggled. "I feel fine." I replied. "More than fine! He asked me out!"

I removed my cell phone from my ear as my two best friends started whooping and hollering. I laughed and screamed along with them.

"So, we're going shopping, then?" Alice asked me cautiously, afraid I might have changed my mind in the last three seconds.

"Yes." I replied happily. "We are going shopping!"

"Do you know where he is taking you?" Rosalie asked me.

"No." I said. "He didn't tell me. He did ask me if I liked hiking, though."

"Okay, so we'll get you a pair of really cute hiking boots. Hmm…what do you think about outfit wise, Rosalie?" Alice said in her fashion-ista voice.

"I don't know. Maybe a pair of flare jeans with a cute top. Something that brings out her highlights and the light brown in her eyes. A light brown, maybe? Or white. White brings out, like, everything." Rosalie responded.

"Ooh. That sounds cute." Alice squealed. "Okay, Bella. Be ready by 10:00, okay? What time is your date at?"

"Seven." I said glancing at the clock. It was only 7:39 which meant I had about eleven and a half hours before I could see Edward again.

"Okay. Get ready. Rose and I will be at your apartment by 10:00." Alice said before hanging up.

I was about to just jump into the shower when I thought about Edward again. _Goodness. When is this boy ever not in my head? I feel like I'm in high school again!_

I scrolled through my contacts and found Edwards name easily. Without really thinking about it, I called him.

_Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring._ On the fifth ring, his voicemail picked up. "Hey, it's Edward. I can't come to the phone right now so just leave your name and a number and I'll get back to you."

I was upset that I didn't get a chance to talk to Edward but at least I got to hear his voice.

"Hey, it's me." I said after the tone. "I'm just checking on you to see if you're okay. You drank a lot last night. Call me later and I'll bring you some soup or something to make you feel better. If not, I'll see you at seven." I hung up hoping that Edward would get my message and call me back before seven so that I had an excuse to go and see him early.

With a smile on my face and thoughts of Edward on my mind, I jumped in the shower.

EPOV

With Jasper and Emmett gone, I walked back into the kitchen. Jasper had started making coffee for me before he left, so I grabbed a mug and poured myself a cup.

I walked over to my piano and sat down on the bench. I placed my hands tenderly on the keys and began playing a melody. It wasn't a melody that I had heard and it wasn't a melody that I had written before. It was melody that came from my heart. Every thought and feeling that I ever had for Bella came rushing out into this song that I was playing on my piano.

After about five minutes, I stopped playing and got a pencil and blank music sheet from inside the bench that I was sitting on. I began playing the melody on the piano again only, this time, I wrote down the notes.

Once the song was finished I wrote "Bella's Lullaby" on top of the paper and put it on my music stand. _One day, Bella, _I thought looking at the sheet of music, _I will play this song for you and tell you I love you._

BPOV

Alice and Rosalie ended up at my apartment a good thirty minutes before 10:00. I had just opened the door when Alice pulled me out into the hall way.

"Come on!" She squealed excitedly. "We have less than seven hours to find you the outfit. It has to be cute but comfortable. And, of course, you have to be able to hike in it. I like Rose's idea about the brown and white. Light brown of course!" She looked at me for a second. "Come on! Get you purse and LET'S GO!" She screamed.

"Alice!" I cried pulling away from her grip on my arm. "I haven't even dried my hair yet. And I'm still in my BRA!"

Alice's mouth dropped open and she let go of my arm quickly. Rosalie had pressed herself against the wall across my apartment door and was laughing uncontrollably.

I ran back into my apartment and hid behind the door. "Are you coming in?" I asked.

Alice was still standing in the middle of the hallway with a shocked look on her face. Rosalie, however, was now on the floor rolling with laughter.

I sighed and grabbed my jacket from the coat rack to cover myself up. After my jacket was securely zipped, I opened the door and dragged Alice into my apartment. Rosalie was still on the ground laughing, so I left her there. _That'll teach her not to laugh at me. _I thought devilishly.

"I'm so sorry, Bella!" Alice gasped after I shut and locked the door. "I didn't realize…" She trailed off.

"It's okay, Alice. I understand." I said smiling.

I took off my jacket and hung it back on the coat rack before running into my room to put on a plain white t-shirt. It was halfway over my head when I heard the knock.

I watched Alice silently walk to the front door and open it. Rose was standing in the doorway looking pissed.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!" She yelled.

I gasped wide-eyed and slammed my bedroom door shut. Suddenly, my evil plan didn't sound too good.

"What the HELL were you thinking leaving me out there like that?" Rosalie screamed banging her fists on my door. "I'm going to KILL you! Your fugly ass NEIGHBOR started HITTING on me because of you! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!"

That was it. I couldn't take it anymore. I started laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes by the time I opened the door. "Eric hit on you?" I asked between gasps of laughter.

Rosalie glared at me, her anger evident in her eyes. "Because I really want to take you shopping, I'm not going to kill you right now. But, if you EVER leave me out in the hallway by myself again…" Rosalie let her thought trail off.

"So…you're only going to let me live because you want to take me shopping? It's not because you love me?" I asked still laughing. I could see Alice laughing just as hard as I was in the living room. It was just too much fun _not _to make Rosalie mad.

Rosalie turned towards me and smirked. "In the words of Isabella Swan," She replied, "There is no such thing as love."

My smile faded into a grimace and Alice's laughter stopped. "Whatever!" I snapped, grabbing my purse and heading out the door.

EPOV

After I finished my song for Bella, I quickly showered and dressed. I made sure to put on extra deodorant and cologne so as to not stink when I met Bella at 7:00. _I'll probably take another shower before leaving, anyways. _

My thoughts were only on Bella as I drove to the grocery store. I planned on having a picnic with Bella in the meadow for our date. I just hoped that Bella would find it romantic instead of cheap. I had no problem with spending money on Bella, I just wanted her to get to know me better before I did it.

I walked into the store looking around wondering where to start. I knew I needed some blankets to lay on and to keep Bella warm. I needed candles to set the romantic mood and I would need a picnic basket to keep the food in, as well as some silverware and plates to eat off of. But, I had no idea what Bella liked to eat.

I walked into the meat section and picked up a couple of steaks. _Or, maybe she doesn't eat meat. _I thought to myself. I didn't remember Bella having a problem with meat in high school, but seven years had gone by. Things could have changed.

With a shrug, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket.

"Hello?" Bella's beautiful voice filled my ear after three rings.

"Hey, Bella. Can I asked you something?" I asked carefully waiting for her reply.

She giggled. "You just did." She said before laughing. "What is it you wanted to ask me? Would you like me to bring you some soup?" She asked in a sweet, innocent voice. I thought I heard two female voices yell "No" but then again, I could have been wrong.

I chuckled at what Bella had said. "No, you don't need to bring me any soup. I'm okay. But thank you for offering." I replied with a wide smile on my face.

An old woman passed by me with a smile of her own. "It's so nice to see young people in love." She mumbled while passing me by.

"What did you want to ask then?" Bella asked me in her beautiful voice.

"What is your absolute favorite food?"

There was a pause as she thought about her answer. "Steak." She replied.

I smiled - pleased that I had already picked out her favorite food. "What about dessert, then?" I asked while putting two packages of steak into my cart.

"Cheesecake." She answered. No pause or anything. _She must really like cheesecake. _I thought before asking: "What kind?"

"Chocolate." She replied. "Chocolate Cheesecake is the best." There was a pause as she thought about something. "Why are you asking me all of these questions about food?"

"No reason." I replied casually while heading over to the bakery section of the store to order a chocolate cheesecake. "I'll pick you up at seven o'clock sharp, okay?" I said.

"Okay!" Bella replied happily. I could almost hear the smile in her voice.

After about two hours of deciding what food went well with steak and 150 dollars later, I pulled into the parking garage of my apartment building. It was 2:00 which meant I had five more hours until I was going to see Bella. _Life is good. _I thought while setting all of the grocery bags on my kitchen counter and getting to work at cooking the food.

BPOV

Alice and Rosalie finally let me go home at 4:30. They had dragged me into store after store talking about nothing but shopping, shopping, and, oh, did I mention SHOPPING?

I had bought a new white button up blouse, a light brown leather jacket, and a pair of jeans that hugged my hips tightly and showed off what little curves I had. Rosalie made me buy a black lace thong to go with the jeans because "It was a law to wear a thong under a pair of tight fitting jeans." and, of course, I had to get a bra that matched. What kind of girl was I if I didn't have a black lace bra to match my black lace thong? Oh, the horror!

Alice also made me buy some make-up products that I knew I would never wear anywhere except on this date. She picked up a brown eye shadow that matched my new brown leather jacket perfectly and some mascara that "Made lashes look longer and fuller. Guaranteed!" In all, I spent 250 dollars. That was enough money to pay for three months of rent and four weeks of food, but that didn't matter to Alice or Rose. They still made me buy the clothes and make-up. It was, of course, my idea to go shopping.

While at the mall, I also got the full story from Rose of how her date went. From what I actually heard, it went pretty well.

RPOV

Emmett took me out to eat at Eclipse. It was a nice expensive restaurant and they had a wait list of two months. But, somehow, Emmett got us in. He had "connections".

"You look gorgeous." Emmett said, his eyes smoldering.

I smiled and my mind immediately went into the gutter. "You know," I said rubbing my foot up and down his leg. "I really am impressed that you got us into this restaurant, but I would much rather go home and DO something else." I raised my eyebrows up in a suggestive manner and licked my lips.

"Check please!" Emmett yelled with his hand up in the air.

Emmett and I were both completely naked by the time his front door was closed. He pulled me to him and kissed me so passionately it took all of the breath out of me. I had had many kisses before, but none at all like his kisses.

I kissed my way down his body and paused when I got to his erection, looking up into his eyes. He moaned and I smiled.

Slowly, I took him into my mouth and he moaned my name over and over again. I grabbed a hold of him and rubbed slowly, gaining speed as I felt him about to come.

"Rosalie!" Emmett moaned as he came into my mouth.

I pulled away from him and pushed him onto the couch. He sat down and I sat on top of him. Our lips met as he went into me, easing me onto his member. Emmett guided me up and down but let me set the pace.

On the couch he pulled me onto al fours and came into me from the back. His hands tracing my ass every time he pulled out of me, causing me to scream in pleasure.

I laid down on the coffee table as he eased himself into me, arching my back to allow better access. My nails scraped across his back with each thrust and when I felt myself climax, he pulled me back onto the couch and we did it doggy style again.

Emmett knew what he was doing and he kept me going for three hours. By the time we were done, we had made love on every piece of furniture he had in his apartment. The last place was his bed. I laid down in his arms and sighed content, falling asleep in his arms.

BPOV

I took another shower to make sure that I smelled wonderful when Edward arrived. I pulled my hair back into a French braid and put on my eye shadow and mascara just as Alice had taught me to in the make-up store.

I even went a little crazy and decided to wear the black lace bra and thong set under my tight fitting jeans and white button up blouse. I slipped my brown leather jacket on and checked myself in the mirror. I had to admit, the make-up _did_ add that extra flair to my outfit. Hopefully, Edward would think I looked good.

The doorbell rang as I was spraying my favorite perfume "Fantasy" onto my body. I smiled and did one last mirror check before opening the door.

There, in front of me, stood Edward Cullen. He looked just like a Greek God standing there in my doorway. It took all the strength I had not to take hold of him and ravish him right then and there.

Edward smiled at me with his crooked grin. "We match." He acknowledged.

For a second I just looked at him confused. Then, I took in what he was wearing. He had on a pair of dark blue jeans that fit him nicely around his backside area (wink wink) and a white button up shirt underneath a brown leather jacket. I smiled at him and said, "So we do."

"Are you ready to go on our date, then?" Edward asked me with that sexy smile of his.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say those words." I whispered. Edwards eyes lit up when he heard me say the words and I blushed.

"Well, then I won't make you wait any longer for our date to begin." He replied with a wide smile.

I locked the door to my apartment and Edward took my hand in his leading me to the elevator. Once inside, he looked me up and down.

"You look stunning." Edward said when he noticed my looking at him. "Absolutely stunning!"

I smiled at his comment, feeling the blush creep into my cheeks. Edward started chuckling to himself.

"You always blush when I mention how you look." Edward noted. "Why is that?"

"I'd rather not tell you." I replied, looking at the floor of the elevator.

Edward cupped his hands around my chin and pulled my face up so I had no choice but to look him in the eyes. "Humor me." He murmured once I made eye contact with him.

"I just…I can't believe that a guy like you chose a girl like me. It just doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever." I replied feeling the blush rush into my cheeks again.

Edward smiled. "Believe it." He said just as the elevator doors opened. He dropped his hands from my face and settled for holding onto my hand.

"Nice car you got there, Mr. Cullen." I observed as I ran my fingers across the top of the silver Volvo.

"Thank you, Ms. Swan." Edward replied opening the passenger door for me.

I smiled triumphantly as he said my name. _He remembers me! Edward Cullen remembers me! _"You figured out who I was!" I said. "You didn't even need all three guesses!"

"I told you, you looked familiar to me." Edward said shutting his door and starting the car.

"Where are you taking me, Edward?" I asked him suspiciously.

Edward chuckled to himself. "You'll find out soon enough. You always were the stubborn type, weren't you?"

"How did you know that?" I asked Edward in surprise.

"Oh. I um…well, you see…er…well…" Edward stammered looking anywhere and everywhere but at me.

"What is it, Edward? You can tell me." I said urging him to continue what he was saying.

"I had a crush on you in high school but I never had the courage to go and talk to you." Edward said, the words rushing out of his mouth so fast I had to try really hard to catch them all.

"You…what?" I asked wanting Edward to repeat the words he just said to me. I had waited seven years to hear Edward Cullen say he had a crush on me and now that he said those words, I wanted to hear them repeated over and over again.

Edward stopped the car and looked at me. "Please don't make me say it again." He said with pleading eyes. "It was hard enough telling you the first time."

"Why was it so hard?" I asked him. Edward didn't say anything, he just looked out the windshield and out into the forest that we were parked in front of. I took off my seatbelt and turned in my seat so that I was looking right at Edward. "I had a crush on you in high school, too." I said receiving a surprised look from Edward.

"You did?" He asked me, shock written all over his face.

"I did." I replied taking his face in my hands like he had done to me in the elevator. "I just never had the nerve to tell you. And then, the day I was going to tell you, I found out that I was moving. What perfect timing, huh?" I said smiling.

"Bella…" Edward breathed my name sending chills up and down my spine. "May I ask you a question?"

"Anything." I answered him automatically.

"May I kiss you?" Edward asked me shyly, never taking his eyes away from mine.

"I thought you'd never ask." I replied. It was cliché and I knew it, but it described exactly what I felt at that moment.

And then his lips met mine. He meant it as just a nice, innocent kiss, but I wasn't having that. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer to him. Slowly, I parted my lips and Edward obligingly deepened our kiss.

The way he tasted and the way he smelled so close to me was intoxicating. When he pulled away from me, I was breathless just as he was.

"Wow!" Edward said after catching his breath. "I have dreamt of that moment for a very long time now but I never thought your kisses could be _th__at _amazing!" He smiled at me and I smiled back.

"I know just what you mean." I responded smiling as Edward kissed me again, this time not hesitating to deepen our kiss.

"I think I should take you to where we are having our date before anything more happens here." Edward said unlocking my arms from around his neck.

"You don't have to do that." I said kissing him again.

Edward chuckled against my lips and pulled apart from me. "Yes, Love, I do. I don't trust myself alone with you." Edward said. _Love! He called me Love!_

"I trust you completely." I mumbled trying to get him to kiss me again and see where it lead.

Edward chuckled and kissed my forehead. "You really overestimate my self control." He said before getting out of the car and walking over to my door to open it for me.

"Is this why you asked me if I liked hiking?" I asked suspiciously running my eyes over the forest all around me. "Because you were taking me hiking?"

"Yes, it is." Edward said from behind the car. "Do you not want to go hiking?" He asked me, disappointment evident in his voice.

"I would love to go hiking with you." I replied looking at Edward and smiling. _That and other things. _I thought with an impish grin on my face.

Edward came back around the car holding a picnic basket.

"Aw!" I said with a smile grabbing Edwards hand. "Your taking me on a picnic? How romantic!"

Edward gave me a wide grin. "I'm glad you think so." He stated holding onto my hand tightly before leading me into the trees.

EPOV

"Name one thing that no one knows about you." I said to Bella as we were walking through the trees to get to our destination. We had been walking for about ten minutes when Bella suggested we play 20 Questions.

"Not even Audrey or Dawn?" Bella asked stepping over a fallen tree.

I smiled. "No. Not even them."

I held back a tree branch so Bella could walk pass without hurting her beautiful face.

"I don't know." Bella sighed. "Um…I have fifteen piercings." She said looking at me sheepishly.

I stopped dead in my tracks. "Fifteen?" I gasped. I didn't know what I expected Bella to say, but that was not it.

She giggled at my shocked comment. "Yes. Fifteen." She said before walking past me further into the forest. "Six on my left ear, seven on my right ear, one on my nose, and one on my belly button. Fifteen."

"Wow!" I muttered as we walked silently for a couple of minutes. "Your turn." I said.

"Okay." She thought for a second. "Do you still play the piano?"

I could see the trees thinning out up ahead of us and knew we were getting closer to the meadow. "Yes." I said a little surprised that Bella remembered that I played the piano.

"Will you play for me one day?" Bella asked quietly.

I stopped and looked into her eyes and replied: "I would love to." Bella smiled a beautiful smile and took my hand as we walked the last couple of steps into the meadow.

"Oh, wow!" Bella exclaimed looking around the meadow. "How did you find this place?" She questioned me walking into the meadow and spinning around in circles.

I laughed at the sight of a beautiful 25 year-old woman spinning in circles. "I found it when you left Phoenix." I stated confidently. "I skipped school the day after you left and I drove here and decided to take a hike. That's when I found this meadow."

"Wow." Bella murmured.

I put down the picnic basket and spread out one of the blankets I brought and spread it on the ground. I had just finished when Bella came over and sneaked a peak at the food that I had brought. Her gasp caused me to look up in alarm.

"You brought steak and chocolate cheesecake!" She exclaimed with a smile painted on her face. "How thoughtful are you!"

I smiled. "Why did you think I was asking you what your favorite food and dessert was?" I asked with an amused expression.

"I had no idea." Bella answered putting the food on the blanket. I lit the candles I had bought and placed them in the center of the blanket.

"Are you cold?" I asked Bella when I saw her watching me light the candles. She was shivering slightly.

"A little." Bella said quietly.

I draped the other blanket over Bella's shoulders and sat down beside her. We continued our game of 20 Questions that well exceeded 20 questions. We ate and talked until way into the night.

Bella fell asleep in my arms as I started humming her lullaby. I watched her sleep for a while before carefully laying her down and picking up the plates, silverware, and uneaten food.

"I can help you with that." Bella said with sleep still evident in her voice. She started to get up but I stopped her.

"Keep sleeping, Love." I murmured gently. " I can handle this."

"Okay." Bella mumbled before falling back asleep.

I finished packing everything up and watched Bella sleep for a little while before picking her up and carrying her to the car.

I placed Bella in the passenger seat and buckled her up before putting the blankets and picnic basket back into the trunk. I made sure Bella was warm before I started the car and drove onto the highway. It was 12:48 in the morning.

"Bella." I said gently rubbing her arm to wake her up.

She moved around for a second before replying, "Yes?"

"Would you be okay with spending the night at my apartment, or would you like me to take you home?" I asked silently hoping she would be okay with staying at my place.

"I'd like to stay with you, if you're okay with it." Bella mumbled stifling a yawn.

I smiled. "Okay. Go back to sleep, Love." I murmured softly before humming her lullaby to put her to sleep. Within minutes, she was out like a light.

I pulled up to the parking garage near my apartment building and parked the car watching Bella sleep for a minute. I yawned and made up my mind to get out of the car and get everything inside my apartment.

I popped the trunk and got out to get the picnic basket out, leaving the blanket just in case I needed them again. I walked back over to Bella's door and picked her up out of the car.

When I got to my apartment, I walked Bella into the guest bedroom thinking she wouldn't want to sleep with me. I laid her down on the bed and tucked the covers around her before kissing her forehead.

"Edward?" Bella mumbled, her eyes fluttering open.

"Yes?" I asked looking at her intently.

"Don't leave me, okay?" She answered closing her eyes and sighing.

"I'm not going anywhere." I replied laying down next to Bella. She snuggled up against me and wrapped her arms around my waist as I did the same.

I fell asleep to the sound of Bella's breathing and the scenes of our date replaying inside my head.

**A/N There you go. Chapter six. Now, let's see if we can get 20 more reviews, okay? I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can.**

**Gina Marie**


	8. Olive Garden And Cowboy Hats

**A/N This chapter is dedicated to my girl Kelly for sticking with me even when I get annoying talking about nothing but my story! She's like the only one of my friends who just won't take my shit and I gotta love her for that! She helped me with some parts of this chapter so, here's to Kelly!**

Chapter Seven: Olive Garden and Cowboy Hats

BPOV

I woke up from the best sleep I had ever had to the sun shining on my face. I snuggled closer to my pillow with a smile on my face. I wanted to go back to the dream I had been having. It was about Edward, of course.

In my dream Edward had taken me on a hike to a beautiful meadow. We went at night so we had a picnic by candle light and moon light. It was the best date I had ever been on and it was with the best man I had ever been with.

Edward had been so thoughtful, bringing along my favorite foods and a big, fluffy blanket incase I got cold. We spent the night asking questions about each other. I found out that he was a doctor just like his father, Carlisle Cullen, except Edward worked with kids. Edwards favorite color is blue and he still played the piano. Better yet, he promised to play the piano for me one day.

I felt something warm touch my face, pulling me out of the memories of our date and back to reality. I lazily reached up to shoo away whatever it was that had touched my face. What my hand found, I had not been expecting.

My eyes opened wide as I tensed up expecting to find a burglar in my apartment. Instead, I found Edward watching me while tracing my face with his fingertips. I was lying in a big bed, my arms wrapped tightly around Edwards waist, in an unfamiliar room.

"Good morning." Edward said with a cheerful smile. "Did I wake you?"

"Yes, but I'm glad you did." I replied snuggling closer to him, if that was even possible considering how close I already was to him.

I could feel Edward chuckling softly underneath my ear. "And why is that?" He asked before kissing the top of my head.

"You just proved to me that my dream was real." I said leaning into Edwards kiss. I was surprised by my honesty but just passed it off as me being half asleep.

"What dream?" Edward asked me, curiosity coloring is features.

"I had a dream about us going on our date." I replied.

"And where did we go?"

"You took me to a meadow. And it was so beautiful, Edward! And you kissed me so passionately it took my breath away and I became lightheaded. Then, towards the end of our date, you sung me to sleep." I explained with a dreamy smile on my face. _What is it with my honesty? _I wondered.

"Did I, now?" Edward questioned rolling onto his back and pulling me onto his chest. I sighed content and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Yes you did." I answered looking deep into Edwards eyes.

"Did I bring you over to my apartment to spend the night, as well?" Edward teased.

I looked around the room taking in the bare white walls and black furniture. The bed we were in had a black and blue comforter to match the blue curtains that hung from a window and the black dressers and bedside table. "Yeah, I guess you did." I answered after a moment.

"Did you sleep okay?" Edward asked me with a mischievous smile on his face.

I looked him up and down before answering his question. "Yes." I said. "Why?"

Edward shrugged and went back to tracing my face. His fingers traced my eyes, nose, cheekbones, and then reached my lips. He bent down close to my face. I closed my eyes waiting for his lips to touch mine, but it didn't happen.

I opened my eyes after a second. Edward was watching me but he was hesitating. His eyes told me that he wanted to kiss me just as bad as I wanted him to kiss me, but the way his jaw was set told me that he wanted to tell me something.

_Shit! _I thought. _I must've said something in my sleep that he didn't like. What did I say?_

I knew I talked in my sleep from my mom, Alice, and Rosalie teasing me about it. I never said anything that was ever brought up to be discussed, though. It was brought up to make fun of me, sure, but never to be discussed. Until now.

I swallowed hard before saying, "You want to tell something." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I do." Edward replied looking me in the eyes. It felt like he could see straight into my soul, like he was seeing every flaw I had. I held my breath.

"You said something this morning." Edward began while taking my hands in his. I waited for him to continue speaking but he didn't.

"What did I say?" I prompted, not really wanting to know what I said. I didn't want to hear Edward tell me he didn't want to see me again, which was what I was sure he was going to tell me.

"Nothing to be worried about." Edward said simply, squeezing my hands before letting go of them. He cupped his right hand under my chin and put his left hand on my cheek. "I love you." He whispered. And then he kissed me.

It was a kiss just as passionate and just as breathtaking as the kiss last night, but it had a different meaning. Last night's kiss was held back compared to this one. As Edwards tongue entered my mouth I could feel all of his love for me.

When we pulled apart, I looked into Edwards eyes and smiled so wide my cheeks started to hurt. I was so happy that Edward had told me he loved me. Now I got to say it back to him!

"You told me you loved me last night." Edward explained in a husky voice that made me want him. "I don't know if you meant it or not, but I thought you should know how I feel. Ever since I first saw you that very first day in high school I knew I loved you."

I opened my mouth to say I loved him too, but he put his hand over my mouth to stop my reply. "Please don't say anything." Edward whispered with a sad look in his eyes. "I can't bear to hear you say the opposite of how I feel."

With that said, Edward got up out of the bed and left the room. I jumped out of the bed as well and followed him into the kitchen. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Bella…" Edward warned, pulling away from my grip.

"Will you let me speak?" I asked, reluctantly removing my arms from his body.

Edward hesitantly turned around to face me. I could tell he was trying to hide his emotions but his eyes gave him away. Pain was written all over his face.

"I never believed in love since the day I got my heart broken." I began steadily, not looking at Edward. "I thought I was in love with my last boyfriend, Jacob, but he proved me otherwise."

I finally looked up at Edward and he seemed to be contemplating what to say to this. "That night at Twilight. The night when we first talked? I wasn't looking for someone to love me and I wasn't looking to fall in love with anyone."

Edwards face fell and he began to turn away from me. "I understand." I heard him mumble in a hurt voice.

"Please let me finish." I pleaded grabbing hold of Edwards arm. "Please." I watched as Edward closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I waited for him to turn away from me, but he didn't. I took his hand in mine and took deep breath as well before continuing.

"What I'm trying to say is: I wasn't looking for those things, but I found them." I paused. Edward was looking at me with a confused expression on his face.

"I love you." I whispered before stepping on my tip-toes and kissing him on the lips. "I love you, I love you, I love you." I repeated, kissing him lightly every time I said those three words.

"You do?" Edward asked me with a grin playing on his lips.

"I do." I replied with a smile.

Edward picked me up and spun me around, laughing. I was getting dizzy by the time he put me down.

"I'm going to be on call all week," Edward said looking at me with sadness in his eyes. Obviously, he didn't want to be away from me any more than I wanted to be away from him. "But I would like to take you out again on Friday. This time to a nice restaurant. How does that sound?"

"Fantastic!" I replied as Edward leaned down to kiss me again.

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The week without Edward was slow. I tried to keep myself occupied with anything and everything to keep my mind off of how lonely I was without Edward. At night I had work and during the day I would clean. By Wednesday I had cleaned my whole apartment twice, my car once, and I had alphabetized all of my books and cd's. Despite all that I did, though, my thoughts kept drifting back to Edward. I was constantly wondering what he was doing or who he was thinking about. All the while hoping that I was invading his thoughts just as much as he was invading mine.

I sat down at my kitchen table on Wednesday afternoon and called Edward. It rang five times before his voicemail picked up. I sighed and laid my head down on the table, closing my eyes. It was 10:48 and I was already going crazy. I didn't know how much longer I could be away from Edward. Then I had an idea.

I quickly jumped in the shower and scrubbed away yesterdays grime. Once I got out, I pulled on a pair of blue jean shorts and a dark blue tank top with matching flip-flops. I brushed my hair back into a ponytail and brushed my teeth before looking through the phone book for the number for Olive Garden Take-Out.

I dialed the number knowing exactly what Edward would want. "Hello, Olive Garden Take-Out. How can I help you?" Asked a bored voice.

"Yes, I would like one plate of lasagna and one plate of shrimp-mushroom pasta." I said while unlocking my car door and getting in.

"What name should I put your order under?" The voice asked.

"Bella." I replied as I pulled onto the highway.

"That will be 38.20." The bored voice grunted. "It will be ready by 12:00."

"Thanks." I said even though the person on the other end had already hung up.

EPOV

The week was going by unbearably slow without Bella. Every little break I got from work I would spend thinking of Bella. I thought about calling her a couple of times but every time I got the chance, it was too late and she would either be at work or asleep.

By Wednesday afternoon, I was miserable without Bella. I was missing her more and more every second that ticked by on the clock in the break room. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. I didn't know how I had been able to make it through these past three days without Bella but I knew the next two days without her would just about kill me.

"Mr. Cullen?" I looked up to see Angela standing hesitantly at the door of the break room.

"Yes, Angela?" I asked hoping she wasn't about to tell me I had another patient.

"There's someone here that wants to see you." She answered simply.

I took a deep breath thanking the gods above that I didn't have another patient. "Can you ask them to come back later? I'm really tired."

Angela smiled. "I think you going to want to see this person." She replied while walking out of the room.

I picked myself up out of the chair I was sitting in and followed Angela out into the waiting room. There, sitting in one of those uncomfortable hospital chairs, was Bella. Seeing her face brought a smile to mine.

"Hello, handsome!" Bella exclaimed running towards me with a beautiful smile on her face. "How are you?" She asked once she reached me.

"I'm great, now." I responded, giving her a chaste kiss on the lips.

Bella laughed a beautiful laugh that made my heart soar. _My, how I've missed hearing my Bella laugh like that. _

"I brought you some lunch." Bella declared while taking my hand in hers. "It's from Olive Garden!" She smiled and I smiled back. Bella knew my favorite restaurant and she thought enough of me to go out of her way and bring me lunch from there.

I looked at my watch. "My break starts in five minutes." I commented. "Will you wait for me?"

"Of course." Bella giggled, kissing me lightly on the lips. "I'll meet you at the park, okay?" She asked me while making her way outside.

"Okay." I walked back to the break room to get my stuff. It was Bella's thoughtfulness that made me love her. That and so much more. Not just anybody would order from an expensive restaurant just to spend thirty minutes with somebody else.

"You love her, don't you?" Angela asked looking me up and down.

"What makes you say that?" I asked innocently even though I could feel the smile permanently plastered on my lips.

"I've never seen you smile like that before." Angela observed. "And then that girl, Bella, comes in and you just can't stop smiling. What's with that?"

I shrugged. "I'll be back at 1:00." I replied leaving the hospital to meet Bella.

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"Is there any way you can come over to Alice's house tomorrow night?" Bella asked me. I had learned Audrey and Dawn's real names from Emmett and Jasper, just as they had learned Bella's real name from me.

"That depends on what time everyone is going over there." I responded, bringing Bella closer to me and kissing her cheek.

"8:30?" Bella asked hopefully while watching the ducks swim in the pond.

We were sitting on a bench that over looked the pond at the "New Moon Park".

"For you? I'll be there." I said while laughing.

I watched Bella and she smiled. "Okay," She began looking up at me from underneath her eyelashes. "Can you meet me at my apartment around eight?" Bella had her eyebrows raised. She knew that she was pushing her luck but she also knew that I could never say no to her.

"I'll see what I can do. I'll call you if I can't, okay?" I bargained.

By now we were standing in front of the hospital. Bella pouted. "I don't want to say goodbye." She said hugging me tightly against her body.

"I know, Love, but I'll pick you up at 8:00 sharp tomorrow, okay?" I said kissing her and removing her arms from my waist.

"I guess." Bella mumbled still pouting.

I sighed. "I have to go now." I began to walk away when Bella grabbed my hand.

"One more thing." She said pulling me to her.

"What's that?" I asked her with a curious grin.

"I love you." She said before kissing me passionately right there in front of everyone on the street.

When we broke apart I said, "I love you, too." before kissing her forehead and walking back into the hospital. _Only seven more hours. _I thought as the doors swished shut behind me.

BPOV

I wanted to reach out and stop Edward from leaving me again but I knew he had to work. So, with a fake smile, I watched him walk back into the building.

Once I was back in my car, I put my head on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. The loneliness, gone for the thirty minutes that I was with Edward, was back and I didn't like it.

There was a tap on my window. I jumped and looked to see who it was that was bothering me. When I saw it was Edward, I felt the smile come back on my lips and the happiness take over.

I quickly rolled down my window to talk to Edward. "Did you forget something?" I asked looking around my car to see if anything of his was in there. Two of his Debussy cd's and his brown leather jacket were in the backseat, but he wouldn't need those and I planned to never give them back anyway.

"No. I didn't forget anything." Edward replied while resting his arms on the open window. "But, I did tell Angela that I was going to take the rest of the day off."

"Really?" I asked excitedly. The only thing I wanted was to spend the day with Edward. But then a thought crossed my mind. "What about all those kids who need a doctor?" I asked feeling the smile that had been on my face two seconds ago quickly turn into a frown.

"I have no more appointments, Love." Edward told me. Then he hesitated. "Do you not want to spend the day with me?" He whispered barely audible.

"How could you say that, Edward?" I gasped in disbelief. "All I want to do is spend the day with you!"

"So, I'll follow you home?" Edward suggested with a smile on his lips.

I giggled realizing where this was headed. "Come here." I said, motioning with my finger for Edward to come closer. He quickly obliged.

Once Edward's face was less than an inch from mine, I brought my lips to his. I could tell he was taken off guard by my kiss but he never pulled away.

I felt Edwards tongue rub my bottom lip and I parted them with a moan. He entered my mouth and our tongues explored each others mouths. Our kiss was growing more and more rough with each second that passed.

I pulled away from Edward and rested my forehead against his. "When we get to my apartment, we can continue what we just started." I said in a voice that I hoped was sexy. By the look on Edwards face, it was.

"See you soon." I smiled kissing him one last time before driving away.

EPOV

I ran to my car as soon as Bella was out of sight. I didn't know what Bella was thinking about doing when we got to her apartment but if it had anything to do with what just happened in the parking lot, I wasn't going to work tomorrow. (If you catch my drift…)

I was speeding down the highway right behind Bella's car. Her eyes would lock onto mine in the rearview mirror and, every time, she would smirk like she knew something I didn't.

Within ten minutes I was pulling into the garage of Bella's apartment complex. I could see her running towards me and when I opened my car door, she flew into my arms, our lips meeting simultaneously.

I closed my car door and picked Bella up. Her legs wrapped around my waist and I put my hands around her firm ass to keep her on me. I began walking into her building but, through all of this, our lips never broke apart.

I set Bella back down on her feet when we were in the elevator. Her hands went into my hair and I pushed her against the wall causing her to moan.

The elevator opened with a _ding!_ signaling that we were on the fourth floor. Bella reluctantly pulled away from me and grabbed my hand. We ran through the hallway stopping at E17. Bella pulled out a key and opened the door, her lips back on mine the second she turned the lights on.

Bella put her hands on my shoulders and hoisted herself up on me, wrapping her legs around my waist once again. I was sure that she could feel my hardness because she started grinding her hips into mine.

I walked blindly into a room and laid Bella down on a bed. Her hands were all over me by the time her back touched the bed.

"Bella…" I breathed removing my mouth from hers and replacing it on her neck. I started sucking on the sensitive part of her neck causing Bella to moan my name over and over again.

I felt Bella's hands untuck my shirt from my pants as I brought my mouth back to hers. She slowly unbuttoned my shirt and ran her hands up and down my chest. I could feel my body squirm under her touch and she smiled into my mouth at her effect on me.

I pushed Bella's shirt up her body exposing her perfect breasts. We broke apart and I took her shirt all the way off. My hands were unclasping Bella's bra as her hands were unbuckling my belt.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked Bella as she tore my belt off and began unbuttoning by pants.

"Yes." She whispered with pleasure coating her voice. I didn't need to be told twice.

I slid Bella's bra straps off of her shoulders and kissed my way down to her breasts. I slowly slid the offending fabric off of her body and took her left nipple into my mouth causing a moan to escape her lips. Her body arched into me as I rubbed her other nipple with my hand.

"Edward…" She gasped.

I stood up and took my shoes and pants off before climbing back into the bed with Bella. My fingers traced the line of her underwear as our lips touched again. I slipped one finger inside her feeling her wetness. She grinded her hips onto my finger. Feeling bold, I stuck two more of my fingers into her, receiving a gasp of pleasure come from Bella's beautiful lips.

"Edward…" She gasped. "I need you. Right now!" She exclaimed sliding her hand down my boxers and rubbing my erection.

"Bella…" I moaned as she pushed me onto my back and took my boxers off with her teeth. I could feel myself close to coming when Bella's mouth covered me. "Bella…" I moaned again as she licked me on the head of my dick.

It was at that moment that the phone rang. I groaned.

"Who the hell is calling me?" Bella yelled angrily reaching into her purse and taking out her cell phone. "Hello?" She asked in an irritated voice.

BPOV

"Hey, Bella." I heard a familiar voice say into my ear. I instantly sat up startling Edward.

"Why are you calling me?" I demanded, irritated that Jacob had dared call me after what had happened a week before. "Didn't I make it clear that I didn't want anything to do with you?"

"Yes." Jacob replied weakly. "But.."

"Why are you calling me?" I repeated. I was angry. No, I was more than angry. I was pissed.

"I want to see you." Jacob whispered.

"Well, I want you to leave me alone and that's not working out so well for me." I replied with venom soaking each word. "I guess we don't get everything we want."

I waited for Jacob to say something but he didn't. I sighed. "Goodbye, Jacob." I mumbled before hanging up the phone.

Edward was watching me intently but he never asked who had called or why my voice sounded so angry. Obviously, Edward knew me well enough to know that I wanted to be alone because he said, "So, I'll see you here tomorrow around eight?"

"That sounds good." I replied picking up my shirt, shorts and bra from the floor and putting them back on. Edward did the same, putting on all of his clothes seeing that he was completely naked.

I walked Edward to the door after we were both dressed and kissed him. I could see in his eyes that he wanted to know what was bothering me. "I don't want to talk about it." I stated, turning away from Edward's gaze.

"I understand." Edward said and then he hesitated. "But, if you want to talk…"

"You'll be the first one I talk to." I finished, still not looking at him.

"Okay." Edward said in a sad tone before leaving. Once I heard the door click shut, I broke down crying.

EPOV

I wanted to ask Bella what was wrong, but I could tell she didn't want to talk about it. As I was leaving, though, I could see the tears starting to form.

"I don't want to talk about it." Bella mumbled, turning away from me. My heart broke into a million pieces as I heard the sadness in her voice.

"I understand." I said quietly. "But, if you want to talk…"

"You'll be the first one I talk to." Bella stated. She still wouldn't look at me.

I reached out to Bella and was about to put my arm around her to comfort her, when I pulled back. _If she wanted me to be there and comfort her, she wouldn't be facing away from me. _I tried to tell myself, but I just wouldn't listen. I knew I should stay here with Bella.

I waited another minute to see if Bella would ask me to stay. When she didn't, I gave up, and slowly walked out of the door and shut it behind me.

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As I drove home in my car, I thought about the look on Bella's face as she talked to Jacob on her phone. Her emotions had gone from love, to anger, to sadness all in less than one minute.

I knew very little about Jacob. I knew that he and Bella had had a "thing" for a while and that he was Bella's first love. But I also knew that he had broken her heart and, for that, I hated him.

I was lost in thoughts of Bella that I completely forgot about where I was going. I surprised myself a little bit when I found myself putting my key in the front door of my apartment.

I walked in with a sigh. I flipped the lights on, putting my keys in the bowl by the door, and checked to see if I had any messages. I had four. They were all from the same number, only, it was a number that I didn't know.

The first three messages were just the sound of a phone hanging up, but the last one surprised me. I replayed the message five times, still not believing the voice I heard.

"Hi, Edward. I know it's been a long time since we've seen each other and I know that things didn't end well…Look, I'm sorry. I know that probably doesn't mean much to you but, I am." She paused for a second sighing. "I know you probably don't want to see me but I would like to see you. My number is 555-6192. Call me, if you want to." There was another pause as the girl on the other end seemed to be thinking about something. "I'm sorry." She repeated and then the line went dead.

I couldn't believe it. In the same day Jacob had contacted Bella and Jessica had contacted me. I didn't want to see or talk to Jessica. In fact, I didn't want anything to do with Jessica as, I'm sure, Bella thought of Jacob.

_Could the world get any more messed up?_ I wondered just as my cell phone began to buzz.

BPOV

I wanted Edward to hold me and comfort me as I sat there leaning against the wall crying my eyes out. I was so stupid to push Edward away like that. _He probably thinks that I don't love him anymore. _I thought. _He must think that it was Jacob I wanted all along. I need to show him that that isn't the case._

I wiped my eyes and grabbed my house phone. I already knew Edwards cell phone number by heart so I dialed it and waited for him to answer.

"Hey, Bella." Edward greeted me warily.

"Are you home yet?" I sniffled.

"No." Edward replied even though I could tell he was indeed at home.

"Can you come get me?" My voice cracked two times as I asked this question.

I could hear Edward's keys jingle as he grabbed them and walked to his car. "I'll be there in ten minutes." Edward replied as I heard a car door slam shut and the car turn on.

"Okay." I whispered feeling the tears burn my eyes again.

"Are you okay, Love?" Edward asked me, the hurt clear in his voice.

"Just hurry." I replied before hanging up the phone.

EPOV

I reached Bella's apartment in record time. I knew it had something to do with the fact that I had ran every red light and stop sign to get there in such short time. Not to mention break every speed limit from my apartment to hers.

The second I got out of my car, I saw Bella waiting for me on the steps of her complex. "What's wrong, Love?" I inquired as Bella ran into my arms, the tears staining her face.

She didn't answer me, she just cried into my arms. If this had anything to do with the phone call that Bella had gotten from Jacob, I was going to kill him the day I met him.

I carried Bella into her apartment building, setting her down on her sofa. Bella continued to cry as I held her tightly in my arms, begging her to stop crying. I hated seeing the hurt in her eyes and her mouth set in that frown. I vowed to kill whoever it was that caused her that much pain.

Finally, Bella fell asleep in my arms and I walked her into her room and laid her down on her bed. I made sure the sheets and comforter were wrapped around her nice and snug to keep her warm, before going into her purse and taking out her cell phone.

I walked into Bella's living room and closed her bedroom door behind me. I sat down on her sofa and scrolled through the contacts she had on her phone before finding Jacob's number. I clicked on it and hit send.

The phone rang two times before a deep, husky voice answered. "Bella?" He said.

"No. This is Edward Cullen." I replied loudly with anger coating every word that I said into the phone.

"Who?" Jacob asked me in a shocked and confused voice.

"Her boyfriend." I clarified before continuing. "If you ever call Bella again, I will hunt you down and kill you! How dare you just call her right out of the blue knowing damn well that she wants nothing to do with you! What the hell is your problem?" I demanded hearing my voice rise every second I talked to the man who caused my Bella pain.

"Excuse me?" He questioned me.

"You heard me!" I responded, hanging up the phone and turning it off.

Once I was able to calm down enough to realize how tired I was, I went to check on Bella. I opened the door slightly and peaked in. Bella was lying on her stomach, her right arm spread out to the side and her left hand hidden under her pillow. I smiled at the sight of my beautiful angel sound asleep. I was about to close the door when she called my name.

"Yes, my love?" I whispered while walking into the room. I couldn't tell if she was awake or calling my name in her sleep. She didn't say anything else, just patted her right hand around the bed looking for me.

"I'm right here, Bella." I said while sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Are you going to sleep with me tonight?" She asked me innocently, her eyes still closed.

"Would you like me to?" I questioned her with a slight smile on my lips. I had not had a good night's sleep since the night Bella had spent the night at my apartment and I was glad that she seemed to be having the same problem as I was.

"Yes, please." Bella replied, finding my hand and holding on to it. I chuckled softly and bent down to kiss her hair.

"Let me just check the doors and turn off the lights, and then I'll come back, okay?" I asked, rubbing her back.

"Okay." She sighed, reluctantly letting go of my hand so I could get up. "Hurry back, though." She whispered before turning over and curling into a ball.

I had locked the door and was about to turn off the lights when I spotted a book laying face down on the kitchen counter. Curious, I picked it up to see what it was. It was the Summit High School yearbook from Bella's Junior year. I smiled when I saw that the book was turned to the page that my picture was on. My smile only widened when I saw that my picture was framed by a big red heart.

I put the yearbook back where I had found it and turned off all of the lights before walking back into Bella's bedroom and closing the door. I laid down beside Bella and she moved towards me the second she felt my weight on the bed.

"Edward…" She sighed, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist. _I could get used to this. _I thought as I drifted into a peaceful sleep with the love of my life sleeping at my side.

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I woke up pretty early. The sun was just beginning to come up as I opened my eyes and stretched. I smiled as I saw Bella still curled up against my side, her arms still wrapped around me. I gracefully moved away from her and went to the bathroom, when I came out I saw that Bella had moved into the middle of the bed and had curled herself into a tight ball. I kissed her forehead before heading into the kitchen to decide what I was going to make her for breakfast.

I found eggs, bacon, and cheese in Bella's refrigerator and some pancake mix in her pantry. I smiled as I found a couple of pans to cook the bacon, eggs, and pancakes on. I wasn't the best cook, but I did know how to make breakfast quite well. Everything else I tried to make, I ended up burning until it was nothing but a black crisp.

BPOV

I woke up to the smell of bacon and the sound of a spatula brushing across a pan. I stretched and was immediately hit with the lovely smell of Edward on my pillow. I smiled realizing that it was him in the kitchen making breakfast. I quickly jumped out of bed and brushed my teeth before walking out into the living room to watch Edward cook.

He moved about my kitchen in a fluid movement, like he had been cooking breakfast there every morning of his life. Edward did an impressive pancake flip and I started clapping. This startled him. I laughed as he dropped the pan which, thankfully, landed on the stove instead of the floor.

"Did I scare you?" I joked walking up to Edward and kissing him lightly on the lips. "Thank you for staying with me last night." I said, hugging Edward tightly to me.

"Anything for you, my love." Edward replied with a shrug. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much." I yawned. "What are you making me?" I questioned looking at all of the food spread all over the counter.

"Breakfast in bed." Edward said while pushing me back towards my bedroom.

"Really?" I asked, eying him curiously.

"Really." Edward chuckled. "Now sit back in bed and relax while I bring you your breakfast!"

"If you insist." I giggled.

Edward and I ate breakfast together quietly in my bed. I could tell that he wanted to ask me about why I was so upset last night, but he never mentioned it. Edward moved to clear up the plates and glasses but I stopped him. "Let me." I said, reaching out and stopping him.

"I can do it." Edward offered, but I wouldn't hear it.

"No, stay here." I ordered. Edward did as he was told and I smiled. "Thank you."

"Your welcome." Edward said simply.

I put the dishes into the sink, then walked back into my bedroom and laid down next to Edward. He let me sit there curled up next to him in silence for a couple of minutes. But after that he asked me the question I had been dreading since I woke up this morning.

"Why were you so upset last night?" Edward asked me while playing with my hair.

I sighed and looked up at Edward. "Jacob called me last night. He said he wants to see me."

"And?" Edward questioned me. "Do you want to see him?"

"No!" I exclaimed. "I want nothing to do with him. I don't know why he thinks he can come back to me whenever he wants to but that's not how it's going to happen." I stated matter-of-factly.

"You can tell me if you want to see him." Edward whispered. "I won't be hurt."

I took Edwards face in my hands and made him look at me. "I don't want to see Jacob, Edward." I said in a sure voice. "I want nothing to do with him. Really."

Edward smiled and kissed me on the lips. I smiled when he pulled away from me and curled back into Edwards side. After a moment of silence, Edward turned on the television in my room. The news was on and we watched the anchorman Tyler Crowly for a couple of minutes, then I glanced at the clock. It was 9:48.

"Edward!" I gasped pointing at the clock. "Aren't you supposed to be at work right now?" I asked horror-struck.

"I called Angela and told her I couldn't come in today." Edward answered me simply with a shrug, his eyes never leaving the TV.

"Why?" I asked incredulous.

"Because of you." He replied nonchalantly. "Did you really think that I would go to work and leave you here by yourself when you were upset?" Edward asked me, gazing intently into my eyes.

"I guess not." I mumbled. After a second: "Thank you."

"For what?" Edward asked surprised.

"For staying with me." I replied kissing him.

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Edward had to go home around 6:00 to take a shower and get ready to go to Alice's apartment for our dinner tonight at 8:30. Besides that, Edward had stayed at my apartment with me. We played 20 Questions again (exceeding the limit of 20 questions again, as well) and I made Edward a lunch of quesadillas and my own special hot-and-spicy sauce to go along with it.

I quickly showered and changed into a cute red v-neck long sleeved shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans. I topped off my outfit with a pair of strappy red high heels. I had just finished drying my hair when Edward knocked on my door. "Come in!" I called from my bathroom.

Edward walked in dressed in the same outfit I had seen him in the day we met at Twilight. A plain black t-shirt and blue jeans that fit nicely on his hips. His hair even looked all mussed up the way it had looked at Twilight.

"You look gorgeous, my love." Edward commented when he entered my bathroom.

"Thank you." I replied. "You look pretty good, yourself." I said with a smile. "I'm almost done."

"By all means," Edward said. "Take your time. There's no telling what Alice and Jasper are doing right about now."

"I doubt it." I told Edward, only half-believing it myself.

We were out the door by 8:26 and we met Rosalie and Emmett outside of Alice's apartment.

"Hey, Rose. Emmett." I greeted them before pulling them into a hug. "Ready to get this party started?" I asked with a smile.

"No." Emmett pouted. "I wanted to stay in bed with Rose."

"Too much information." Edward mumbled, taking my hand and leading me into the building. I giggled at Edwards comment as we waited for the elevator to arrive.

"Do you know what the occasion is, Rosalie?" I asked as the four of us walked to Alice's apartment door.

"No." Rosalie answered. "I thought you knew."

I shrugged and unlocked the front door. "Hello?" I called into the apartment when I saw that no one was in the living room or kitchen. I could hear Alice and Jasper talking, but I didn't know where they were.

"Did you hear that?" I heard Alice ask. It was quiet then.

I looked at Rosalie who just shrugged, looking around the apartment as well. Emmett and Edward just stood by the door.

I heard a crash and Jasper cuss. "What happened?" Alice giggled.

"I ran into your damn lamp." Jasper replied in an aggravated tone.

"Well, is anyone here?" Alice asked suspiciously. I glanced at Rosalie who raised an eyebrow in my direction. I could feel Edward's eyes on me.

"No." Jasper said. "It must've been the TV."

"Where are they?" I asked looking around the living room. Just then, Jasper walked into the kitchen wearing nothing but a cowboy hat. "Whoa!" Rosalie and I shrieked. Emmett and Edward were just laughing.

Jasper jumped and quickly pulled the cowboy hat off of his head and covered himself with it. This caused the two boys to laugh even louder.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Jasper screamed. His face was as red as a tomato from his obvious embarrassment at what had happened.

"What's going on?" Alice exclaimed from her bedroom. The sound of feet hitting the hardwood was heard and then Alice appeared. She was naked, too.

"What the fuck, Alice?" I screamed, turning around and facing the door.

"Would it kill you two to put some clothes on?" Emmett joked. Rosalie smacked him in the head, hard.

"What are you guys doing here?" Alice asked, hiding behind Jasper, her face just as red as his.

"You invited us." Rosalie said. She had turned around just as Edward and I had. Emmett was the only one still watching Jasper and Alice.

"Oh my God!" Alice exclaimed, hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand. "I completely forgot to cancel! I was caught up in Jasper and…"

"Please! Don't finish that sentence!" I yelled. "I'm just going to leave and pretend this never happened." I explained while opening the door and walking out.

"Good idea!" Edward said following me out. Rosalie grabbed Emmett's arm and they both followed Edward.

The four of us walked silently to the elevator, not knowing what to say about what had just happened. Once inside, though, Emmett broke the silence. "Why don't you ever role play with me, Rose?" He whined.

Edward and I jerked our heads in their direction so fast we should've gotten whiplash. I opened my mouth to say something smart but Rosalie put her hand up to stop me.

"Don't. Say. Anything!" Rosalie said through gritted teeth.

"Wasn't gonna." I replied, stifling a giggle. I could see Edward doing the same thing from the corner of my eye.

**A/N How about another 20 reviews for me and you guys can get another chapter from me? Sound good?**

**Gina Marie**


	9. Complicated

Chapter Eight: Complicated

EPOV

I pulled up at Bella's apartment at 7:30 Friday night. After the scene at Alice's apartment, I had to take Bella home and I wasn't able to see her until now. My plan was to take Bella to Eclipse, a nice and expensive restaurant. I knew Bella had a problem with me buying her things, but I didn't care. I like spending money on her, so I do it.

I knocked on the door to E17 and waited for Bella to answer the door. Instead she called out "It's open." so I let myself in.

"Are you almost ready, Love?" I asked while walking into Bella's bedroom and sitting on her bed. "Our reservations are for 8:00."

"I'm just looking for this other shoe." Bella called from her closet. She was crawling on the floor and I had a nice view of her ass. "Found it!" Bella exclaimed in a sing-song voice.

"You look gorgeous, Love." I commented as Bella got up off of the floor. She had on a strapless red cocktail dress with black eyeliner and mascara on. I knew that Alice had come over to dress Bella up because this wasn't something that Bella usually wore unless she was going to the club.

Bella walked over to the bed to put her shoes on. "Allow me." I said, taking the black strappy shoes from her.

"Why, thank you." Bella smiled. Once I was done strapping the shoes on her glorious feet, I stood up and kissed her fully on the mouth.

"I've missed you." I whispered when we pulled apart.

"I know the feeling." Bella stated, kissing me again.

I pulled away from her knowing that if we continued kissing like this, we were never going to leave the apartment. "Are you ready to go now?" I questioned.

"Yes." Bella said while picking up a black lace shawl. It contrasted against her skin beautifully. "Where are you taking me?" Bella asked as we walked out of her apartment building to my car.

"You'll see." I answered while I held the passenger door open for her to get into the car.

"I would really like to know, now." Bella pouted. She reached out and messed with my hair, knowing that it turned me on and I was more likely to give in if that happened.

"Stop it, Love." I mumbled trying to be strong. "We're almost there. You'll find out soon enough."

"Okay." Bella shrugged.

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. Bella was not the type of person to just give up and stop arguing when she really wanted something. Bella was stubborn. I took Bella's hand in mine and turned to look at her. "What's wrong, Love?"

"Nothing." Bella answered looking into my eyes. I could tell that she was thinking about something, though.

"What's on your mind?" I inquired as the red light turned to green.

Bella squeezed my hand and sighed. "I'm just trying to figure out what it was that I did to deserve you. It must have been a hell of a good thing! I guess I got lucky." She smiled.

I chuckled at this. "Bella, if anyone got lucky, it was me. I got lucky to find you and to have you actually want me as much as I want you."

Bella giggled at my comment. "I love you, do you know that?" She asked me causing me to smile.

"Yes, I do." I answered. "And, I love you, too."

Bella smiled and kissed me on the cheek. "Okay, then. Where are you taking me?"

"You are a very stubborn person, do _you_ know _that_?" I asked Bella while kissing the hand that I was holding.

"I've been told that every now and again." Bella shrugged. "Mostly from you…" She trailed off seeing where I was taking her to on our date. "Eclipse?" Bella gasped in disbelief. "You're taking me to Eclipse?" She looked at me, then at the building, and back again. "Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how expensive this place is?"

"Silly Bella." I chuckled. I got out of the car and walked over to Bella's side and opened her door.

"I'm not getting out." Bella declared, crossing her arms across her chest. Her mouth was set in a sexy pout.

I sighed. "Bella, money means nothing to me. I have plenty of it and I have no problem with spending it on you. I _enjoy_ it." Bella didn't move. She just stared blankly out the windshield and refused to go into the restaurant.

"Okay, then. If you don't get out of the car by yourself, I'll carry you into the restaurant. You can take your pick." I bargained.

"You are NOT carrying me into there!" Bella shrieked, pointing at the restaurant. She knew I would carry her, if it came down to it and I smiled.

"Humor me." I pleaded.

Bella looked at me and then at the restaurant for a long moment. "Fine." She mumbled before adding, "But only because I love you."

"Thank you, Love." I said with the crooked grin that I knew she loved. "I love you, too."

The place was crowded as we walked in. I held onto Bella's waist as I could see six or seven guys looking her up and down. I sent glares at every one of them.

"Two?" Asked a girl with blonde hair and green eyes. I felt Bella stiffen into my side as the girl looked at me in what was supposed to be a sexy way.

"Actually, we have a reservation." I said, pulling Bella closer to me which seemed to relax her a little bit.

"Oh?" Asked the blonde girl. "What's your name?"

"It's under 'Cullen'." I replied with a polite smile.

"Right this way." The girl said, grabbing two menus and leading us to a small booth in the back of the restaurant.

"Your waiter will be here soon. Is there anything you need?" She put the emphasis on "anything" and it was making me uncomfortable that she was talking to me that way. Bella didn't seem to miss this.

"Anything he needs, I will take care of." Bella snapped at the blonde girl. "You can leave now!"

The blonde girl gave me one last glance and glared at Bella before leaving us alone.

"She's a slut." I heard Bella mumble under her breath. "Did you see the way she was staring at you? It was like you were a piece of meat!"

I laughed and Bella glared at me. "Are you jealous, Love?" I joked before taking a sip of my water. Bella opened her mouth to say something back to me when our waitress came.

"Hi, my name is Jessica and I will be your waitress tonight." Said an all too familiar voice. My head snapped up and I found myself looking at none other than Jessica Stanley. The girl who had put me in jail and broken my heart.

"Edward?" She questioned, looking at me with a stunned expression on her face. "How have you been?"

I glanced at Bella only to find her glaring at Jessica. "I'm good." I answered. "Bella, Love, what would you like to drink?"

"I'll just stick with water." Bella answered. Jessica didn't seem to notice that Bella was glaring at her because she was only looking at me.

"I'll stick with water, as well." I told Jessica. I expected her to leave, but she didn't. Instead, she just stood there looking at me.

"That sounds good." Jessica replied. "You need to make sure you keep that sexy figure." She said, and then she winked at me. _Did she actually wink at me? _I thought, disgusted. _Does she really think that I would find her attractive after all that has happened?_

Bella cleared her throat at that moment. "If you don't back the fuck off of my man, I will get your manager over here and have your ass fired!" She said in an angry voice.

Jessica looked over at Bella with a shocked expression fixed on her face. "Excuse me?" She questioned which only pissed Bella off further.

"You heard me!" Bella yelled, standing up at the table. She was staring daggers at Jessica and I really couldn't blame her. I would be doing the same thing if I was watching Jacob flirt with Bella.

"Make your choice. Act like a waitress and take our orders instead of flirting with Edward, or get fired. What are you going to choose?" Bella spat. By now, everyone in the restaurant was watching the scene that was playing out before them.

"Why in the world would I get fired?" Jessica gasped innocently. "I am doing nothing wrong!"

"Doing nothing wrong?" Bella repeated walking over to Jessica. "Are you fucking kidding me? You think flirting with someone else's boyfriend is okay? It may be to some people but not for me. I'll say it again: Back the fuck off of my man or I will get your manager over here and get your ass fired!"

With this said, I got up and put my hands on Bella's shoulders. "Calm down, Love. She's not worth a fight." I said calmly into Bella's ear. Normally this would have calmed her down but she was too far gone for that to happen now.

"Is there a problem?" A man asked coming over to our table.

"Yes!" Bella roared. "Are you the manager?"

"That I am." Said the man. "What's the problem?"

"I want this hutchie fired! That's the problem!" Bella answered, never taking her eyes off of Jessica.

"What is she doing?" Asked the manager politely.

"She is not being professional!" Bella explained. She was trying to hold back her anger but it wasn't working out too well. "She is flirting with my boyfriend and I tried to get her to stop and she didn't! What are you going to do about it?" This time, Bella was staring daggers at the manager.

"Jessica, is this true?" Asked the manager in a calm voice.

"I have no idea what she is talking about!" Jessica lied.

"Oh, hell no!" Bella shrieked. She jumped at Jessica but I picked her up to stop her from starting a fight. She was kicking her feet and squirming, trying to get loose of my grip so she could attack Jessica. "Put me down, Edward! I'm gonna kick her ass!"

"No, no." The manager refereed. "That won't be necessary. Jessica, could you please give me your name tag and go change out of your uniform?"

"W-what?" Jessica stammered. "Why?"

"Because you are fired, Jessica." The manager replied calmly.

"Fired?" Jessica repeated. "You're fucking firing me because of a lie that this bitch told?"

"Who are you calling bitch?" Bella and I screamed at the same time.

"You better back the fuck off before I let Bella go and hurt you." I barked at Jessica. This was just like her. Lying to save her ass.

"This isn't the first time a costumer has complained about your flirting problem. You are fired. Your name tag, please?" The manager shouted at Jessica.

"Whatever." Jessica huffed, taking off her name tag and handing it to the manager. As she turned to go she said, "He doesn't want you. He wants me. Always has, always will!" She smirked and walked away.

"Let me go!" Bella screamed but I wouldn't loosen my hold on her. I knew that Jessica was a waste of time and energy. I had learned that the hard way. "You come back here, motherfucker!" Bella yelled. "Come here and say that to my face! Or are you too chicken? Is that it, huh? Afraid I'll hurt your fugly ass face?"

Jessica turned around and flipped us off which just caused Bella to get even more angry.

"Oh, no the hell you didn't just do that! Come back here, bitch!" Bella commanded. "I'm going to fix you up real good!"

"Calm down, please, miss." The manager begged. "I will personally take your orders and your meal will be free along with a free dessert and a one hundred and fifty dollar gift card. How does that sound?" The manager asked with a nervous smile. I could tell that he was afraid we were going to sue him.

"No, no." Bella mocked. "That won't be necessary. We're leaving." She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the restaurant and out into the parking lot.

"Are you okay, Love?" I asked in concern. I had never seen Bella so pissed in her life. It scared me and pleased me all at the same time. I was pleased that Bella would start a fight in order to make it clear that I was hers and no one else's. I was scared because I didn't want anything to happen to her.

"I'm fine." Bella mumbled. She wouldn't look at me. I couldn't tell if she was mad at me or not.

"Would you like me to take you out somewhere else?" I asked half-hoping she would say yes, half-hoping she would say no.

"Sure." Bella replied as I pulled out of the Eclipse parking lot. Her voice was still coated with anger but her body wasn't tense any more.

"Where would you like to go?" I inquired.

Bella thought for a second and smiled. "Well…" She said. "I know how much you love Olive Garden. Why not go there?"

"We don't have to go there just because of me, Bella. I want to go somewhere that you want to go to." I stated, still not sure if Bella was mad at me or not.

As if to answer my unspoken question, Bella took my hand in hers and leaned into my side. "I _want _to go to Olive Garden." She told me.

"Okay." I replied before making a U-Turn and heading towards Olive Garden.

BPOV

I was so mad at what had happened at Eclipse, but I tried to calm down for Edward's sake. I had never gotten even remotely mad in Edward's presence and one girl makes me so pissed I almost started a fight.

I leaned into Edward's side and he wrapped his right arm around me. I sighed content. "I love you." I reminded Edward.

"I love you, too." Edward replied, kissing my hair. "And, I don't care what Jessica said to you, I don't want her. I want you and no one else but you." He told me.

I smiled. I knew this to be true but it still felt good to hear Edward clarify it for me. "I know." I said.

We reached Olive Garden in ten minutes. Edward came around to my door and opened it for me. I got out and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. "How about we pretend that everything that happened at Eclipse didn't really happen." I suggested. "How about we pretend that this was where you were originally going to take me on our date. Okay?" I asked Edward.

"Your wish, my command." Edward replied claiming my mouth with his.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Surprisingly, Olive Garden wasn't crowded. We ended up getting a table in five minutes instead of the normal two hour wait that is usually required at Olive Garden on Friday nights.

"Are you coming home with me tonight?" Edward asked me hopefully as we waited for our waiter to arrive. I smiled at him and covered his hand with mine.

"When have I ever turned down an invitation to spend the night with you?" I joked. Edward smiled just as I had wanted him to.

"You are absolutely right, my love." He said, kissing my hand.

"I will need to go get some things from my apartment, though. Is that alright?" I questioned.

"Yes." Edward answered simply. "What is it you need that I don't already have, though?" He wanted to know.

"Well, I need to write a song to sing at the club on Sunday and I have this tune playing over and over in my head. I would like to see what comes from that." I said while taking a sip of my wine. "Although, I wouldn't want that to keep you up tonight." I added as the thought crossed my mind.

"Not at all, Love." Edward responded. "You know I'm a heavy sleeper as it is." I smiled. This was true. Edward could sleep through a war going on in his apartment building. As long as I was by his side, he wouldn't wake up. If I left the bed, however…that was a different story.

"Hello. I'm Jacob and I will be your server today. What can I get you two to drink? Or would you like to stick with the wine and water?" Said a male voice that I knew well. I looked at Edward who was watching me. _This can't be seriously happening, can it? _I thought.

"I think we'll stick with the wine." Edward said looking at me to see if I would object.

"That's good." I mumbled, hiding my face behind my menu. I didn't want Jacob to recognize me. That was the last thing I needed. Two fights with two different exes in two different restaurants on the same night. Not good.

"Okay." Jacob said. "Would you like any appetizers or would you like to go ahead and order your meals?"

I could feel Edward watching me intently. "I think we need a few more minutes to decide what we want to eat." He told Jacob.

"Alright." Jacob replied before turning to leave.

"Would you like me to get another waiter, or do you just want to leave?" Edward asked me. I looked up and saw a concerned look on his face.

"You know who that is?" I asked. As far as I knew, Edward had never met or talked to Jacob before.

Edwards eyes dropped from mine and he started tracing the pattern of the table. "Well," He began, still not looking at me. "That night that Jacob called you and made you upset, I called him back and threatened him."

I stared at Edward bewildered. "Why would you do that?" I asked.

Edward quickly looked up in confusion. "He hurt you." Edward explained. "Why wouldn't I do that?" I couldn't believe Edward would do that for me. It was so sweet.

Just as I was about to tell Edward that we should probably just leave and go home, Jacob came back. "Are you ready to…" His sentence went unfinished when his eyes made contact with mine. "Bella." He said.

"We've decided that we aren't going to eat here, after all." I explained to Jacob while standing up. Edward followed suit.

"Wait." Jacob cried, reaching out towards me. Just then, Edward stepped in between us.

"Didn't I say not to talk to her?" Edward warned Jacob.

Jacob blinked at Edward in confusion and then understanding crossed his face. "Your Edward Cullen." Jacob murmured. "And, no. You said if I ever called her again you were going to hunt me down and kill me. You said nothing about talking to her." Jacob smirked.

"Then, let me tell you now!" Edward yelled. "If you EVER talk to Isabella again, I will kill you. Do we have an understanding?"

"Edward, don't worry about this. Let's just go." I said. I really wasn't in the mood to have another fight. For a second, Edward didn't move. But after a second or two of tugging on his arm, he obliged and we walked out of the restaurant.

Once we were safely in the car, I sighed exhausted. "I can't believe that happened!" I muttered. "What are the odds?"

"I don't know." Edward answered while pulling onto the highway to take me back to my apartment and get my things. "I just hope it doesn't happen again."

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When we got home to Edward's apartment, I tried laying down with Edward, but sleep never claimed me. I couldn't stop thinking about our misfortune with our exes. It was just too weird. Then, right when I was about to drift off into sleep, that tune popped into my head.

I sighed and looked over at Edward. He looked a lot younger when he was sleeping but, then again, I think everyone does. It's only when you sleep that you let all of your guards down.

I wiggled out of Edward's grip and kissed him on the cheek before grabbing my guitar and heading into the living room. I sat down on the sofa and began strumming the tune that kept popping into my head on the guitar. I wasn't the best guitar player, but it served it's purpose when I wanted to write songs.

I grabbed a scratch sheet of paper and a pen. As I played my guitar, lyrics started forming in my head. It was all I could do to put the words down on my piece of scratch paper before I forgot what it was that I wanted to write.

Once I was done with the song, I looked at it. It was about the way I feel about Edward and how I don't care about what people say. It was about the problems that Edward and I have faced and will have to face in the future. It was about how love wasn't always complicated. There were those few times where you would have some problems, but you had to work through those complications.

I began strumming my guitar again and I began to sing my song.

Sat up in the dark for so long,

Just living my life on my own.

Then, right up out of the blue,

I bumped into you.

I was so amused

By your smile boo.

Wanting you to call my phone,

So me you can talk just a little more.

I didn't know what to do, I was feeling you,

Hoping you would be cool with hanging out too.

I don't know what happened.

Got people steady asking:

How you go to sleep mad one day

The next wake up so happy?

Love works like magic,

And it's so true my mind can't grasp it.

I'm just glad that I've got you in my life.

I think about us (all day).

Dream about you (always).

Love ain't always…

Complicated.

I think about us (all day).

Dream about you (always).

Love ain't always…

Complicated.

If I'm loving it don't take long.

People speculating that it won't last long.

But that just can't be true,

'cause I've been loving you

Like you never knew

That I could do.

I will never let go gotta hold on,

'cause you done made me and

You a happy home.

And I give all me to you, I'll do

Whatever you ask me too,

'cause boy you're my

Biggest blessing.

They can keep on asking:

How I go to sleep mad one day

The next wake up so happy?

Well love works like magic,

And it's so true my mind can't grasp it.

I'm so glad that you made me your wife, I -

I think about us (all day).

Dream about you (always).

Love ain't always…

Complicated.

I think about us (all day).

Dream about you (always).

Love ain't always…

Complicated.

Boy, you make me feel so beautiful.

And I ain't never gonna let you go.

People say this ain't how it's supposed to go,

But I refuse to believe

'cause it happened to me.

One day you're

Standing in the middle of the road,

And you don't know where you're going.

All of a sudden your whole life change

And life finally gives you something back.

It's been a mean world without you,

Boy I love you, I love you.

I think about us (all day).

Dream about you (always).

Love ain't always…

Complicated.

EPOV

I woke up to an empty bed and the sound of music coming from my living room. I figured Bella was writing the song like she said she was going to at dinner. I rolled over trying to go back to sleep but it proved to be impossible without Bella sleeping next to me. I sighed and sat up debating on whether or not to disturb Bella. I decided that I wasn't going to bother her, but I did want to watch Bella when she was writing her songs. It was something about her that I had never seen.

I opened the bedroom door a crack and peered through. Bella was sitting on my black, leather couch and was strumming her guitar. Occasionally, she would write something down on a piece of paper, then go back to playing her guitar. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and her brow was furrowed as she concentrated on writing.

I watched her for a couple of minutes before I decided that I was going to open the door all the way and sit with her. Right when I put my hand on the door knob, though, Bella started singing.

It was a slow song but she sang the words fast and with so much emotion. I could hear the love in Bella's voice as she sang every word with the most perfect voice I had ever heard. She sang over the music beautifully and gave the words meaning.

I saw flashes of every day I spent with Bella as she sang her song. Every thought I had about her, every smile, and every joke we shared. All of our happy moments started replaying around in my head.

As Bella sang the chorus, I started thinking about the fight Bella had with Jessica and the argument that Jacob and I had. Love really isn't always complicated, you just had to work through those few complications. It was something that I would always do for Bella. No matter how complicated things got, I would be there for her.

I smiled to myself when I realized that the song Bella had written was about our love. _I think it's time that I play Bella's lullaby for her. _I thought as Bella's song came to an end.

"Bella." I whispered causing her head to snap up in shock. "I'm sorry. Did I frighten you?" I smiled.

"Yes." Bella replied with a smile. "How long have you been standing there?" She asked me cautiously.

"That was a beautiful song, Love." I responded, walking over to sit down on the sofa next to her. "You're very talented. Do you write all of the songs you sing?"

"Rosalie and Alice write some, but I do write most, yes." Bella replied while putting her guitar on the floor and leaning against me. I wrapped my arms around her small body and laid down on the couch.

We stayed silent for a long while and I thought Bella had fallen asleep when she spoke, startling me slightly. "Since you heard me sing a song I wrote," She began shifting in my arms to look at me. "Can I hear you play a song that you wrote on the piano?"

Bella smiled so sweetly at me that there was no way I could possibly say no, not that I would have anyway. "Of course." I told her, picking her up and bringing her over to the piano bench. I put my fingers gingerly on the keys and took a deep breath. I wasn't sure how Bella would react to her lullaby, but it couldn't be bad seeing how she wrote a song about our love. Unless I was wrong in thinking that she wrote the song about us. I pushed that thought out of my head and turned to Bella.

"This is a song I call 'Bella's Lullaby'." I stated. Seeing the confusion in her eyes I added, "I wrote it for you." I began playing her song. The melody starting out slow to signify my meeting her and getting faster to signify my falling in love with her.

After a couple minutes, the song ended and I turned to look at Bella again. She had tears in her eyes and I was afraid I had offended her. "What's wrong, my love?" I inquired while wiping her tears away.

"That was beautiful." Bella stated breathless. "Thank you, Edward. You have no idea how much that means to me."

I smiled and bent down to kiss her beautiful lips. Bella responded and quickly deepened the kiss by putting her hands in my hair and parting her lips. I pulled away before anything got started.

"I think we should go back to bed, now." I uttered still a bit breathless from our kiss.

"Okay." Bella agreed.

BPOV

"Bella, wake up." I heard Edward say in my ear. I moved over and pressed my face into my pillow.

"No." I mumbled.

Edward chuckled at what I had said and tried getting me out of bed one more time. "Please?" He begged. "You are going to like it better if you get out of bed now than later." He warned.

"And why is that?" I inquired, my face still pressed into my pillow. All of a sudden I felt something cold and wet drip onto my back. I rolled over and pulled the blankets over my head and sighed.

"WAKE UP, BELLA!" I heard a voice yell right before cold water was poured on my back.

"What the HELL?" I screamed sitting up really fast. Rosalie and Alice were standing over me, both holding buckets. Edward was standing by the door watching me.

"I warned you." He muttered before leaving the room and heading to the kitchen where I heard male voices talking. I could only assume that those voices were Emmett and Jasper's.

"Why did you pour water on me?" I yelled once Edward was out of my line of eye sight.

"Because you wouldn't get up." Alice said simply as she and Rosalie got off the bed. I looked at her incredulously.

"When I don't get up," I began in an icy voice, "That means you should feel free to leave me alone to sleep."

"No." Rosalie argued. "That means we should feel free to pour two buckets of cold water on you!" I glared at her and threw my pillow at her. "Hey!" She squealed when it hit her. "Your pillow's wet!"

"And who's fault is that?" I demanded.

"Yours." Alice answered from Edwards closet. She came out with a pair of my blue jeans and a tank-top. "Put these on." She ordered.

"Why should I do that?" I questioned, pushing the wet covers off of me. "You poured cold water on me and you expect me to do what you tell me to? Try again."

"No." Alice hissed. "YOU try again!" She stared me down as I glared at her. Finally, I gave in.

"Fine." I went to the bathroom to put on the clothes Alice gave me and brushed my teeth. Once I came out, Alice and Rosalie were sitting on the edge of the bed, that hadn't gotten wet, watching TV.

"So, why is it that you just HAD to get me out of bed?" I questioned them.

"We're going shopping." Alice told me.

"No we're not." I argued walking into the kitchen. "Edward." I called.

"Yes, Love?" Edward answered coming to the door of the kitchen.

"Alice is trying to take me shopping!" I whined, hiding my face against his chest.

"You don't want to go shopping with her?" Edward chuckled just as Alice and Rosalie walked into the room with us.

"No way!" I gasped as if this was the worst thing in the world which it was…to me, at least.

"That's too damn bad, Bella." Rosalie told me from Emmett's side. "You're going shopping with us and you are going to like it. Do you understand?"

I glared at Rosalie and then looked at Edward hoping he would save me from this battle. "Bella." Edward sighed. "I'm going to have to help Emmett and Jasper fix a broken pipe at Jasper's apartment, so you'll be alone unless you go shopping."

"No." I retorted. "I can come with you and help you guys fix the broken pipe!" Jasper snorted and Emmett broke into a booming laugh. I rolled my eyes at them and looked at Edward.

"Bella…" He said.

"Bella, if you tried to help them fix the pipe, something else would need fixing by the end of the day." Alice interrupted with a laugh.

"Shut up, Alice!" I sneered.

Edward kissed the top of my head. "Just go shopping with Alice and Rosalie, Love. I'll pick you up at your apartment at 5:30 to take you to work. Okay?" Edward asked me.

I sighed. The last thing I wanted was to be away from Edward. Especially if it meant that I had to go shopping while he was away. But, I did need some new outfits because my old ones were either too out of style, too small, or too torn by Rosalie attacking them with scissors.

"Okay." I agreed as Edward kissed me on the lips. "I love you." I said as he pulled away.

"I love you, too." Edward told me.

"Okay. Now that we have that all cleared up, can we _please _go now?" Rosalie complained.

"Shut it, Rose." Alice and I hissed at the same time as I grabbed my purse and sunglasses. With one last kiss from Edward, Alice, Rosalie, and I piled into Alice's yellow Porsche and made our way to the mall.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Five hours, 300 dollars, and many arguments later, the girls dropped me off at my apartment building. I had about seven bags full of clothes I knew I was never going to wear spent with money I knew I was going to need when it was time to pay the rent. I sighed and trudged up the stairs because the elevators were busted.

Once I reached my apartment, I was out of breath. The bags I was carrying had to have been ten pounds each and I had carried them up all four flights of stairs!

I opened the door and immediately dropped all seven bags on the floor. I heard a _clunk! _and bent down to see what had made the noise. I opened a bag from "Victoria's Secret". I hadn't remembered going into that store and thought that I had accidentally grabbed one of Alice or Rose's bags when I found a note.

_Bella,_

_Surprise!_

_This is a gift from Rose and me._

_You'll know what to do with it when you're ready._

_Thank us then! We love you._

_XOXOXO_

_Alice and Rosalie_

Curiously, I looked into the bag to see what it was that I was supposed to thank them for. To say that what I pulled out was a surprise would be an understatement. Inside the bag was a midnight blue bustier and a matching thong. I sighed. This was most definitely a Rosalie and Alice gift.

I put my gifts back into the bag and tied it shut. I opened my underwear drawer and stuffed the bag under all of the drawers' contents hoping that if I did this, the bag would somehow disappear.

I moved all of the rest of my bags into my closet and went to start running the water for a bath. I poured some bubble bath into the water and started playing a mixed tape that Rosalie made for me. It had all of the "hit" music on it. Apparently, I wasn't into the "right" kind of music.

I tied my hair back into a ponytail so that it wouldn't get wet in the water. I lay down in the bubbly water and washed away all of the stress from the past two days. I forgot about the fight between me and Jessica, the argument between Edward and Jacob, and the shopping trip that Alice and Rosalie made me do.

By the time the water got cold and I was forced to end my stress-relieving bath, it was 5:00. I gasped and hurried to dress myself so that I wouldn't be late for work.

EPOV

I sat at the bar watching Bella, Alice, Rosalie, and Mike get ready for the night's work. Emmett and Jasper sat with me as we sipped our beers and listened to the gossip that was being told.

"I got a girlfriend." Mike told the girls while wiping down his area of the bar.

"Really?" Bella asked. I couldn't help but notice that she seemed surprised. Apparently Mike wasn't too good with the ladies. I exchanged glances with Emmett and Jasper, all the while trying to hold back my laughter.

"Who is she?" Alice demanded with her hands on her hip.

"Is she blind?" Rosalie cried with a confused expression on her face. At that moment I couldn't help it anymore. I was laughing along with Emmett and Jasper. It was too funny.

Mike glared at us before returning his gaze to the girls. "No, she isn't blind!" Mike exclaimed. "I met her here at the bar. Her name is Lauren." He smiled as he finished his sentence.

"Oh." Rosalie said. "So, she's just looking for some poor guy to sleep with. I get it. Although I don't see why she would choose _you_." Emmett fell out of his chair after Rosalie had finished her sentence while Jasper and I were hanging onto the bar so we wouldn't fall out of our chairs.

"Shut up, you guys!" Mike yelled at us. "That's not funny!"

"Not funny?" Emmett repeated between gasps of breath. "How the hell can you not think that's funny?"

"Because it's not!" Mike stomped his foot and walked into the bartender's break room.

I turned towards the girls only to find that they couldn't hold back their laughter anymore. Bella was on the floor clutching her stomach in laughter while Alice was leaning on the bar in hysterics. Rosalie was just smiling to herself, pleased that she had embarrassed Mike like that.

"You don't like Mike, do you?" I confronted Rosalie after our laughter had died down.

"Not particularly, no." She replied.

"Understandable." Bella and Alice giggled at the same time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By 9:00, Twilight was in full swing. The bar was packed and people kept pushing against me trying to get to the girls or Mike for a drink.

"What can I get you?" Mike asked a girl standing beside me.

"A Cosmo, please." She replied. I froze. I knew that voice. I had heard it too many times in the past couple of days. It was Jessica, here to ruin my night again.

I saw her turn to look at me out of the corner of my eye. "Edward?" She questioned warily. I tried ignoring her, but she tapped me on the shoulder. I had no choice but to look at her then.

"Edward!" She squealed, causing me to recoil in disgust. "I knew it was you!"

"Hi, Jessica." I sighed. It was going to be a long night if I had to deal with _her_ all night. I looked over at Bella and found her watching Jessica's every move. She finished a drink order and then headed over to where Jessica and I were sitting.

"Bella!" Jessica cried. "How wonderful to see you."

I saw Bella's face flash from disgust to shock and back to disgust. "Yes." Bella sneered. She was gritting her teeth and I could tell she was trying not to start a scene. "Edward? May I talk to you?" She told me more than asked.

"Of course, Love." I replied while climbing over the bar to talk to Bella.

"I'll save your seat, Eddie!" Jessica waved.

"I always hated it when she called me that." I muttered as Bella led me into the break room. Once the door was shut, she turned on me.

"What the hell?" She began. "Why are you sitting with her? Why are you _talking _to her?"

"She came up to the bar, Bella." I explained while rubbing her arms, trying to calm her down. "I tried ignoring her."

Bella sighed and put her hand to her head. "I'm sorry. I know I sound like a jealous bitch, but…I just don't like her and I don't like you being around her." She told me.

"You're not a jealous bitch, Love. And I don't like being around Jessica any more than you like seeing it." I agreed, kissing her forehead. "I love you. No one else but you."

"I know." Bella smiled. "I love you, too." She wrapped her arms around my waist and I held her tightly.

"Are you ready to go back out there?" I asked after a moment. Bella groaned.

"How am I going to fake being nice to her when I hate her so damn much?" She whined, causing me to chuckle.

"You'll be fine." I replied, kissing her luscious lips.

BPOV

When we left the break room, Edward excused himself and walked to the bathroom. Obviously he didn't want to Jessica anymore which was fine with me, except it meant that I was stuck with her. I tried to busy myself with drink orders so that I wouldn't have to talk to her, but it didn't work out too well.

"I don't think you should be with Edward." Jessica said to me, taking a sip of her Cosmo.

I forced myself to smile when, in reality, I wanted to punch the shit out of her for saying that. "Why shouldn't I be with him?" I asked Jessica as nicely as I could given the circumstances.

"Because." Jessica shrugged. "He's no good. A girl like you should have a better man in your life."

"Is that right?" I asked coldly. "And how many men have you had in _your _life?" I saw Rosalie and Alice take a step in our direction to stop us before we started a fight.

Jessica finished off her Cosmo and pushed it towards me. "I've been divorced two times and I am currently going through another."

I smiled. _So no man can stand Jessica. _I thought. _Can she not see that? _"Why are getting another divorce?" I wondered out loud.

"My husband cheated on me." Jessica muttered. "Little does he know, I cheated on him as well."

"You poor, poor thing." I lied, shaking my head.

"Yes, well." Jessica sighed. "Where did you get that hideous outfit?" She exclaimed looking at me with horrified eyes.

I looked down to see what I was wearing. I had on a short denim mini-skirt and the black Twilight shirt that all bartenders were required to wear. Rosalie had cut off the bottom of it and Alice had tied it around my back to make it tighter. I thought it looked cute.

"Excuse me?" I barked at Jessica. "What the hell do you know about clothes? Look at what you're wearing!"

"Bella!" Alice warned, putting her hand on my shoulder to keep me from doing anything rash.

"I think you should leave, Jessica." Rosalie suggested in an irritated voice.

"I don't think so." Jessica replied with smirk, looking at me. "I'd like to stay and continue talking to Bella." She said my name as if it was a dirty word.

"I agree with Dawn." Edward said, using Rosalie's stage name so Jessica wouldn't know her real name.

Jessica turned around to see Edward standing behind her. "Oh." Jessica stammered. "Well…" She got up to leave when I got an idea.

"Wait." I said. Four pairs of eyes looked at me in confusion. "Audrey, Dawn, and I are singing tomorrow night at 9:00." I told Jessica. "Why don't you come here and watch?"

Jessica looked at Alice and Rosalie before turning around to look at Edward. When she faced me again, she had a suspicious look on her face. "Okay." Jessica agreed before leaving the bar.

"What the hell, Bella?" Rosalie roared in disbelief once Jessica was out of ear shot. "You know she's just going to take advantage of us being on stage by flirting with Edward more!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward shudder at Rosalie's comment, causing me to smile. "I know." I shrugged innocently.

"You know?" Alice repeated. "But you're still going to do it? Do you want Jessica to flirt with Edward?"

"No!" I screamed. _How could Alice ever think that? _"I have a plan." I replied with a wink. Jessica was never going to come near Edward, me, nor any places we were at by the time I was through with her!

**A/N: Up next - the girls get revenge on Jessica!! Give me 20 more reviews and you can read how it all goes down!**

**Gina Marie**


	10. Author's Note Again

You guys probably wanna know where you next chapter is. Well, I was gonna stop writing this story all together but then I read your reviews and I thought better of it. I shall keep writing if you guys keep reviewing! Good deal?

And some of ya'll might wanna know where I have been. Well, stuff happened and I moved. That means less time on the computer. Sorry. So, I'll get you your chapters and I'll finish the story but it might take a while. Like a chapter every week or two. Can you guys deal with that?

And, also. Because I moved i had to get a new e-mail address. If you guys want to contact me, my new address is I hope to hear from you! And, thank you for keeping with me and reading my story. I feel the love!

Gina Marie


	11. The Battle Begins

**A/N: Hey peoples! This is a short chappy. I'mma be taking my time, getting into it ya know? And, also, August 2 is like two days away! I'mma be going to that midnight party and then staying up and finishing Breaking Dawn. I will not be going to sleep until it is finished. Who's with me?? Hopefully Bella chooses Edward. If she doesn't, I will be giving away all of my books and I have two of each.**

**Anyways...on to the chapter.**

**Chapter Nine: The Battle Begins**

**BPOV**

"So, are you going to tell me what your plan is?" Edward asked me. He was sitting down in bed with a book in his hand. I, on the other hand, was washing off all of the face paint (a.k.a. make-up) off of my face. Oh, how I detest the stuff!

"Nope." I replied with a smile, turning off the sink and squeezing out the water from the washcloth I was using.

"Can you at least give me three hints?" Edward questioned as I crawled into bed.

"You wish." I laughed. "You'll just have to wait like veryone else." I kissed Edward lightly on the lips then lay down to go to sleep.

I was about to succumb to sleep when Edward spoke. "It has to be something to do with you singing tomorrow night. Otherwise you wouldn't have invited Jessica to come watch you guys sing." He guessed.

"Ugh. Why do you care so much?" I mumbled against my pillow.

"I would just like to know what your plan is. I want to be in on it as well if it is going to stop Jessica from bothering us anymore." Edward explained

"JUst wait until tomorrow night, okay? I'm tired. Can you turn off the light, please?" I asked sweetly.

"Of course." Edward answered me. He turned the light off and brought me closer to his body. "I love you." HE whispered into my ear before kissing my hair.

"I love you, too." I replied before sleep claimed me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Do you really think she's going to show up?" Alice asked me when we got to Twilight.

"I don't know, Alice. How many more times are you going to ask me the same question?" I asked exasperated.

"I was just wondering." Alice mumbled.

"Well, there's your answer right there." Rosalie said, pointing towards the doorway. There stood Jessica.

The second she walked in the door, she mad a bee - line for Edward. This was going to be harder than I thought.

"Hey, Jessica." I greeted her as politely as I could. Edward looked at me with a confused look on his face. "How are you?"

"Good now that I am next to this sexy, strong man." Jessica replied, rubbing her filthy hands all over Edward.

"If you don't stop - " I started to say but Alice and Rosalie stopped me and pulled me into the breakroom.

"You can't do that if you want your plan to work." Alice said once we were out of ear shot. "Be good."

"Did you see what she was doing?" I practically screamed.

"Yes, I did, but still." Alice replied in a whisper.

"Fine." I sighed. I took a deep breath before returning to the bar.

"Sorry about that." Rosalie apologized for me. "Edward? Can I speak to you for a minute?"

"Of course!" Edward shrieked, jumping over the bar to get away from Jessica. I had to laugh at that.

"Okay." Alice whispered. "We're on in a couple of minutes. Are you ready for this?"

"Hell yeah, I am!" I laughed. This was going to be great!

Just then the music stopped and the Dj introduced us. "Now get ready for Aubrey, Dawn, and Audrey!" Everyone in the club went wild. Rosalie, Alice, and I linked arms and and headed for the stage.

"Tonight, we're going to do something different." Rosalie told the crowd.

"Instead of us singeing together, we'll each sing alone." Alice explained.

"And it begins with a song that I dedicated to my new friend Jessica. She's over there by the bar in the black halter top. She's sitting next to my BOYFRIEND Edward Cullen." I said into my microphone.

Everyone in the crowd looked over to the bar. Jessica took advantage of people looking at her and stood on the bar stool and waved at everyone. I laughed. This was just too easy.

The music started playing and I started dancing to it. When it was time to sing I looked straight at Jessica.

"See every time me and my man get into a fight,  
This girl is giving her advice.  
She wanna say he ain't no good,  
And she think I should get another man in my life.  
But I don't see how she's gonna tell me  
What she think a man should or should not be.  
Plus her love life ain't right,  
She needs to get it tight  
Before she be steppin to me.

Now come on.  
If you've been divorced more than twice  
And you wanna give advice about my love life,  
Oh no!  
You can just forget that,  
I don't need that.  
So you can just go ahead and keep that.  
And if you always lookin a mess  
But yet you wanna tell me how to dress,  
Oh no!  
I don't wanna hear that,  
I won't take that.  
So you can just go ahead and save that.

At least if you're gonna try and give advice  
About my life have your own shit right.  
Cuz you ain't even living what you preach to me.  
So please, how you gonna tell me?  
At least if you're gonna try and give advice  
About my life have your own shit right.  
Cause you ain't even living what you preach to me.  
So please, how you gonna tell me?

Tell me why do I find that the blind  
Is always trying to lead the blind?  
They always got something to say every day  
About the way you do your thing.  
But I don't see how they gonna tell me  
What I need or how I need to be.  
Plus if they ain't doing what I wanna do,  
Living like I wanna live,  
I don't wanna hear it.

Now come on.  
If you've been divorced more than twice  
And you wanna give advice about my love life,  
Oh no!  
You can just forget that,  
I don't need that.  
So you can just go ahead and keep that.  
And if you always lookin a mess  
But yet you wanna tell me how to dress,  
Oh no!  
I don't wanna hear that,  
I won't take that.  
So you can just go ahead and save that.

You bout to lose your house and your ride, too  
Cause you don't handle business like you should do.  
But you know how to fix my thing.  
You dropped out of school in the 11th grade,  
Strippin' every day just so you could get paid.  
But you know how to fix my thing.  
How you gonna tell me yeah?  
Whoa

Now come on.  
If you've been divorced more than twice  
And you wanna give advice about my love life,  
Oh no!  
You can just forget that,  
I don't need that.  
So you can just go ahead and keep that.  
And if you always lookin a mess  
But yet you wanna tell me how to dress,  
Oh no!  
I don't wanna hear that,  
I won't take that.  
So you can just go ahead and save that.

Now come on.  
If you've been divorced more than twice  
And you wanna give advice about my love life,  
Oh no!  
You can just forget that,  
I don't need that.  
So you can just go ahead and keep that.  
And if you always lookin a mess  
But yet you wanna tell me how to dress,  
Oh no!  
I don't wanna hear that,  
I won't take that.  
So you can just go ahead and save that.

But if you wanna give advice...  
Give advice about my life...  
Make sure that your shit is tight.  
How you gonna tell me?  
But if you wanna give advice...  
Give advice about my life...  
Make sure that your shit is tight.

At the end of the sog everyone in the club was yelling and screaming. Some were yelling "Slay!" and others were yelling "OOH!" and some were just bad mouthing Jessica. Calling her names like bitch or slut.

I looked back over at the bar just in time to see Jessica run out of the club. Edward and Jasper were trying to hide their laughter but Emmett wasn't. HE was booming with laughter and pointing at Jessica's retrieving form.

Rose and Alice got on stage then and said, "I guess she couldn't stand the heat and she had to leave the kitchen!" The whole crowd errupted with laughter at their corny joke.

I looked back over at the bar and I saw Jacob. He was watching me with anger in his eyes. When he finally looked away from me, he left the club shaking his head. I shrugged it off thinking that it was just a coincidence that he and Jessica were both at the club. I turned back to the crowd and the concert continued.

**EPOV**

I was trying to hide my laughter when Jessica dashed out of the club. "Serves her right." I thought. She deserved everything she was getting. And it wasn't much.

I looked over at Bella to see that she was looking at something in the back of the bar. I looked to see what had her attention and saw Jacob Black standing in a corner with hate in his eyes.

When he followed Jessica out the door, I spoke to Jasper. "Can you go watch that guy? See what he's doing?"

"Why?" Jasper asked confused.

"That's Jacob Black." I explained.

"Oh." Jasper got up and followed Jacob outside.

"Where's he going?" Emmett asked in between gasps of laughter.

"Jacob was here tonight." I told him. "I don't know if he's trying to get back with Bella or what, but I'm not taking any chances."

"Do you want me to take care of him?" Emmett offered, cracking his knuckles.

I laughed. "How about a rain check?"

"Whatever's best for you." Emmett shrugged.

**Jasper POV**

"I know you're following me." Jacob said without turning around. I kept quiet.

"Okay, then. Keep it up." Jacob snorted, still looking away from me.

After a second or two of walking in silence, Jacob stopped. "Do me a favor." He insisted finally turning around to face me. "Tell your friend that I don not take what Bella did to Jessica lightly. Embarrassing her in front of all of those people?" He paused and shook his head.

"From what I understand, Jessica deserved that and more. I think Bella was fairly nice to her." I argued.

"Yeah? Well you don't understand anything." Jacob snapped. "Trust me when I say this: Bella and Edward will be finished forever when Jessica and I are done." Then he got in his car and drove off.

**A/N: So, it's short and I dunno...boring? Tell me what you guys think. I would like 20 more reviews before I post up again. I would love more. Kepp in touch peoples!**

** Gina Marie**


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